


Time traveler

by Aqua111



Category: KISS (US Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Amnesia, Attempted Murder, Drama & Romance, Friends to Lovers, Jealousy, M/M, Multiverse, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 58,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23723077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aqua111/pseuds/Aqua111
Summary: After a collision with a being from the spirit world Eric awakens to find his memories gone. But is this really the first time this happened? Why does it feel so familiar?
Relationships: Eric Carr/Bruce Kulick, Eric Carr/Gene Simmons, Eric Carr/Paul Stanley, Eric Carr/Vinnie Vincent
Comments: 11
Kudos: 9





	1. Prologue: The world in between

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based on a visual novel called Amnesia: Memories which I have played once years ago.

There was darkness all around him.

"Hello? … Are you alright?"

A voice cut through the silence. It sounded quiet, far away.

"Oh shit… Please tell me you are alive. If anyone finds out I killed a human…"

Eric groaned in response. His eyes flickered open. A stranger in black, white and silver - not just his clothes, his face was also coloured the same way - was kneeling next to him. Fog was swirling around them.

"Oh… you're awake!" the stranger exclaimed. "How do you feel? Can you see me? Can you hear me? Thank goodness you are alive! Damn, that was a scare when I collided with your mind. I already thought I had killed you."

Eric slowly shook his head, trying to get the dizziness out of his mind.

"I'm sorry but… could you please slow down? Who are you? What even happened?"

"Oh, sorry, I'm not very good at this human thing. I'm Ace. And I think I am what you would call a spirit," the stranger introduced himself. "I just happened to be on my way, minding my own business when all of a sudden I collided with your consciousness. Kinda wedged myself into it."

He looked at Eric as if he was expecting a reaction but all Eric could reply to this was, "Oh…"

"Really? No reaction at all? I would have expected you to be more like, 'WHO OR WHAT ARE YOU?! WHAT HAPPENED?!' Are you sure you are okay?" A look of panic appeared on Ace's face. "Oh no, I hope I haven't pushed out your entire personality."

Eric didn't think so but now that the spirit had brought it up he too thought it to be a bit weird that he had no stronger reaction to this. Maybe he was still feeling too dazed. Or maybe there was something very familiar about this situation? Did he actually know this place he was in right now? He couldn't tell. His mind was drawing a blank.

"So yeeaahhh…" Ace slowly said. "About the other problem we are having here. You see, I might be a spirit but I am not a complete void. When I lodged myself into your mind something else had to go. So… I guess your memories kinda skedaddled. I'm so sorry for the mess I caused. And I will do anything I can to help you to regain them. Besides, I don't even know if I actually CAN separate from you without something pushing me out." He gave Eric a pleading look. "I know you must be angry at me now. You can also shout at me if you want to. Just PLEASE, say something. You are making me worried."

"No, it's alright. It wasn't your fault that I have been standing in your spirit path," Eric said and gave Ace a weak smile. "I'm just glad to have someone to help me out of this mess."

"What a relief. I already thought your silence meant you were plotting something. You seem to be a real sweetheart by nature. Or just a huge pushover."

Eric's eyes narrowed. "Hey, so far I'm still seeing you as a friend. Don't make me change my mind."

Ace quickly raised his hands. "Just joking," he said with a chuckle. "I only wanted to see if I could get a reaction out of you. I am actually really glad to be stuck with someone like you. Could have been a real asshole instead. I will do my very best to help you." He paused for a moment. "Which actually isn't that much now that I think of it… As a spirit I can't interact with the things around us or talk to anyone but you. Basically I can only cheer you on."

"Hey, it's better than being all alone," Eric said. "At least I know you'll always be by my side. Literally."

"Heh, true that. Let's give it out best together."

Ace turned his head as if he was looking for something. "Now let's see… Which path did I travel? Gotta send us back to the right world. You really don't remember anything? Not even your name?"

"I'm Eric… Eric Carr." Or at least he hoped so. It was the only name that he could remember.

"Now that's something. We're already making progress," Ace said with a laugh. "One more thing though. When we make it back to your world it is best if no one knows you have amnesia. People could take advantage of you. Or - the worst case scenario - you could end up in a hospital or something. Just being stuck at one place with no input from outside that could help you remember would just worsen your condition. A spirit can't be treated with medication."

"No, if anything I need an exorcist."

Ace blinked at him for a moment but then he let out a laugh. "You know, I love you little Fox."

"Fox?" Eric raised an eyebrow. "Are you already trying to flirt with me?"

"No, isn't that your…?" Ace paused looking confused. "Actually… I have no idea why I just called you that. It sounded so familiar." 

Eric had to agree with that. Not just the nickname - the entire situation felt so familiar.

Ace turned around again. "So which path would you like to take? There are only a few leading here. I know that you can't remember but just a gut feeling would already help me out."

Eric concentrated for a moment. "I think… I feel drawn to this one."


	2. Bruce

Eric groaned as he opened his eyes. Where was he? His head and neck were hurting and when he tried to turn his head to get a better look at his surroundings he realized he was wearing a neck brace. He was lying on a bed with white sheets, pretty much everything he could see looked white or metallic and sterile.

"Oh no, of all the things we didn't want to end up in," he heard Ace's voice.

The spirit looked around in Eric's stead. "Maybe we can find some more information about who you are or what happened. Do you have a phone? What timeline did we even end up in? At least I think this looks like it could be a time in which humans are carrying around mobile phones." He looked at the foot of the bed. "It says your name here. But I don't speak medical so I can't say why you are here. Though I can sense freshly healed wounds all over your body. Maybe an accident?"

He was interrupted when the door suddenly opened. A tall, lanky man walked into the room and sat on the bed. 

"Hey, sleepyhead," he said with a smile and ruffled up Eric's hair. "Haven't you had enough rest already? I think I know what could wake you up." And with that he leaned over and gave Eric a kiss.

Eric immediately tensed up but he remembered Ace's words and tried his best not to withdraw. Doing so would have only raised suspicion. Finally that guy drew back again.

"Alright, I only have to take care of some more paperwork then you'll be finally released. In the meantime, try to get dressed. I'll be back soon if you need any help." He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Eric. "And before I forget, here is your new phone. The old one broke in the accident so I bought a replacement. Currently it only has my number saved to it."

As soon as he was out of the door again Ace and Eric exchanged a glance.

"I… guess he is my boyfriend?" Eric said sounding unsure. He looked at the contact infos of his new phone. The only entry there was named "Bruce".

"He seems like a nice and caring type at least," Ace commented. "You still should try and get dressed before he gets back though." He turned around. "I swear, I'm not looking either."

That he didn't have to tell him. Even if this Bruce actually was his boyfriend and maybe they also were used to seeing each other naked - in the current situation he was a total stranger.

He was barely able to finish getting dressed when Bruce burst back into the room again, startling Eric.  
"Are you already finished?" The tall man's expression turned into one of worry as he gave Eric a look over. "Are you sure you are already fine enough to leave? You still look so out of it. Are you in pain? Did you take your medication?"

"I'm okay," Eric mumbled. "Just a bit dizzy. But I definitely want to leave."

"If you say so." Bruce replied and grabbed the bag with Eric's belongings. "I already called us a cab. Wouldn't want us to walk in that cold right now." He left the room with Eric and Ace following behind.

\----

All three of them were taking the backseat of the taxi with Ace in the middle. Eric was glad that both Bruce and Ace were so slim. It would have been awkward if he had needed to press himself against the door to make enough room for an entity only he could see.

"Could you tell the driver the directions?" Bruce asked. "I still don't quite know my way around here."

Well, shit…

"I … I'm quite bad with directions," Eric said. It was probably the worst excuse ever. All he would have needed to do was telling his home address. He basically just told Bruce that he couldn't remember where he lived.

With a sigh Bruce told the driver where to go.

Most of the drive they spent in silence. Maybe it was just his imagination but Eric had the feeling that Bruce was watching him very closely all the time.

Bruce had a key to the apartment complex they arrived at. At first Eric and Ace were worried that they might live together but then, after making sure Eric had everything he needed, Bruce excused himself saying that he needed to get back to his work but that Eric could reach him any time at his home.

As soon as they were alone Ace let out a sigh. "Ahhh, it's exhausting to keep this charade up for long." He frowned at Eric. "Especially when you're not very good at it. You were very obvious when you were looking around your own apartment as if you had never seen it before."

"Sorry, I don't seem to be a good liar," Eric said. "But at least Bruce hasn't questioned it yet."

He tried to look around his room for a while to see if anything could help him to bring his memory back. There were photos he found of people who looked like they could be his family, photos of him as a child together with other boys, one of them looked like he could be Bruce. So they might have known each other for that long already. That wasn't making things any easier. Images suddenly flashed through his mind.

They both were children. Bruce was putting a ring made of daisies onto Eric's finger.  
"This means we will marry once we're grown up," he said.  
"Don't be silly. Only girls will marry boys. But boys will never marry other boys," Eric told him.  
"Why not?" Bruce asked.  
Eric thought about it for a while but then just shrugged. "I guess only girls would want to wear the dresses with all those scratchy frills."

"Whoa, I felt something. Was that a memory?" Ace asked.

"Yeah, a memory from our childhood," Eric told him. He suddenly felt even more exhausted than before. Maybe it was for the best if he took a rest now and continued his research the next day.

\----

It was still early in the morning when the doorbell woke him up.

"I thought you had a key," he sleepily greeted Bruce as he opened the door for him and let him in.

"I just wanted to be polite. And I didn't think you'd oversleep on a day like this."

"Wait, what day?" Eric asked puzzled.

Bruce, already halfway to the living room, turned to face him. "Our one year anniversary. We had plans for today. Don't tell me you are still so out of it that you have forgotten about it."

Eric felt his stomach drop. What was he supposed to do or say now. Ace, still standing in the door frame of the bedroom, only gave him a helpless shrug.

"I… I'm sorry," Eric stuttered. "I think it slipped my mind…"

With a sigh Bruce sat down on the sofa.  
"Eric… do you even remember me at all?"

"No he doesn't," Ace said, sounding defeated. "But how did you find out?"

"How did you find out?" Eric repeated Ace's question to Bruce.

"Well, for starters, how you reacted to my kiss. I know how awkward you are about publicly displaying our relationship - even if we had the room for ourselves at the moment, this was a hospital after all and someone could have walked in at any time. So I wanted to tease you with this kiss. But then you just quietly accepted it. Then our cab ride home - me saying that I don't know my way around yet was a blatant lie. We both have spent our entire lives in this area. Even as we moved out of our childhood homes we only moved a few blocks away. The anniversary was a lie too. We have only been dating for barely two months now, of which you spent a few weeks in the hospital."

"Damn you! You tricked us!" Ace said angrily. "And what else is a lie? How is Eric supposed to know when he can trust you?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. But I didn't know who you were or how much I could trust you. And I didn't want to be sent back to the hospital," Eric said and gave Bruce a pleading look.

"Don't worry, I won't send you to the hospital again. I will try everything I can to help you getting your memory back. How much do you still remember?"

Well, aside of his name not much else. So Bruce started telling him a bit about their past. They indeed had been dating for two months now but before that they had already known each other since earliest childhood. They were playing in the same band - together with another member named Tommy - seemed to be doing alright by now, but most of their earnings were still coming from smaller side jobs.

"I don't know how much else I can tell you. It might be too much for you and only confuse you," Bruce said after a little while. "Maybe it would be better if you found out gradually."

"Just one more question," Eric said and pointed at his neck brace. "What happened to me? How did I end up like this?"

Bruce suddenly turned his head away and stared at the ground. "I'm sorry," he quietly said. "I think that I'm to blame for this accident you had. But I still haven't really been able to wrap my head around everything that has happened. I'm so sorry but I can't talk about it yet."

"Wait, what?!" Ace said loudly. "You can't just drop a bomb like that on us and then leave us hanging. What did you do to Eric? What happened? Eric, say something!"

"It's alright," Eric said. "You don't have to if you're not ready yet."

"Oh for fuck's sake, Eric," Ace groaned. "Stop being so nice. It won't get you anywhere."

Bruce gave Eric a smile. He then seemed to have an idea. "Hey, maybe we should go for a walk. It's still a bit frosty but maybe seeing familiar surroundings might jog your memory."

\----

The neighbourhood they had grown up in, schools they had been to, places they always loved to hang out at - Bruce really tried his best to make it a trip down memory lane but nothing seemed to work and only resulted in making Eric feel really bad about it.

It was already afternoon when they arrived at the recording studio.

"The place of all our hopes and dreams," Bruce commented as they were walking through the corridor. "I think there is no other place we were hanging out at so often." His voice became quiet, wistful. "At this place I even told you that I loved you for the first time."

Eric felt something stir in the back of his head. Yes, on that day Bruce had waited until everyone else had left and then without further ado had told Eric that he had a crush on him and that it was becoming harder and harder for him to hang out together like they always used to, like childhood friends only. It had been a shock to Eric and also had made him angry because in some way Bruce unwittingly had made him face the choice of either starting a romantic relationship or barely seeing each other anymore. But in the end he had chosen the former. Because the idea of a life without Bruce always by his side was just horrifying.

"Eric? Are you okay?"

He felt Bruce's hands on his shoulders, their faces were only centimetres apart.  
Had this really been a memory or was it just imagination.

"Wow, that was a pretty strong push. Not enough yet though," he heard Ace's voice beside him.

It had to be a memory or else Ace wouldn't have reacted to it. His head was spinning. Had their relationship really started like this, with Bruce basically giving him no other choice? Looking into those soft brown eyes that were so full of worry and care right now it was actually hard to believe.

"I think… I just remembered that day," Eric said carefully.

Bruce let out his breath with a weak chuckle. "Yeah, not my finest moment. I thought that being as forward as possible and just speaking what was on my mind would be the best idea. But when you got mad at me I thought I had really fucked this up. You actually stayed mad at me for days so imagine my surprise when you then suddenly came up to me and told me you wanted to give it a try. At that time I wasn't even sure anymore if I should be happy or question your sanity."

Hearing Bruce's explanation made Eric feel at least a bit relieved. So it wasn't such a forced relationship after all.

That moment a nearby door opened and another man walked out onto the corridor.

Bruce quickly took a step away from Eric and turned to face this other guy.  
"Oh… hi, Mark."

To Eric it felt as if the temperature around them had suddenly dropped a couple of degrees. He nervously glanced from one to the other.

"Bruce? Eric?" Mark's eyes remained on the latter. "You're looking pale. Are you alright? Are you still hurting? You don't look well enough to be working again already."

"We were just on a walk and only wanted to quickly stop by," Bruce explained.

"Alright, just don't overdo whatever you still got planned today. I'm heading out. Maybe we'll see each other again some time." He waved at them and left.

"Who was that?" Eric quietly asked as soon as the other guy was out of earshot.

"Mark St. John," Bruce replied. "We used to be friends once too but…" He shrugged. "Guess time just made us strangers. He was with us in the band once, for old time's sake, but it just didn't work out too well. He also was invited to the trip that we did together with our other friends a few weeks ago, again for old time's sake and in the hope we could rekindle an old friendship. But I think it's hopeless. Something about this guy just rubs me the wrong way."

More images suddenly flashed through Eric's head.  
Mark was walking up and down in front of him, clearly frustrated.  
"You were just nervous? What kind of lame excuse is that? You suck! You slacked off, didn't practice enough and now you suck! And you are dragging the whole band down along with you! The audience doesn't give a shit about your excuses!"  
Another man put his hand on Mark's arm.  
"Mark, that's enough. Don't kick him when he's already down."  
But Mark quickly shot back, "Stop pampering him too, Tommy! It's already bad enough when that pushover there is doing it." He vaguely gestured towards where Bruce was standing with his arms crossed and biting his lips but not saying a word.  
"Who else is going to tell him? If he's frustrated enough to cry then he should do better next time!"

When Eric came to he found himself on the ground, lying in Bruce's arms. 

"Are you alright?" Bruce and Ace asked at the same time.

"You should have told me if it was already getting too much for you," Bruce said. "We could have taken a rest or gone home."

"I guess regaining memories that fast while also still recovering from an accident is just too much," Ace said.

"Did Mark really make me cry after a performance?" Eric mumbled.

"Yeah… And I still want to kick myself for being such a useless friend back then. I didn't want to stir him up even more. So instead I just stood by and watched and did absolutely nothing to help you." He let out a sigh. "Ah, fuck it. At least you didn't let him get to you, instead practiced even harder and then gave it your all during our next performance. The people loved you."

"Then maybe I actually needed this to spur me on. So please don't feel bad about it."

"Yeah, maybe," Bruce replied. "At any rate I think I should get you home now and you should get some rest. I don't want to risk you breaking down completely and then having to carry you home."

Being carried home by Bruce didn't even sound that bad though. Still Eric followed his advice. He felt completely worn out and Ace looked so too.

\----

"So what are we going to do today?" Ace asked the next morning.

Bruce had called earlier to tell Eric he'd be busy throughout most of the day. Eric considered continuing his walk around the neighbourhood with Ace alone when the doorbell interrupted his thoughts.

"Did Bruce decide to step by after all or are you just that popular?" Ace said.

The taller one of the two guys who were waiting in front of his door he already knew as Tommy from one of his flashbacks. The other one was short and had long blonde hair.

"Eriiiiic!" The blonde man shouted as soon as the door opened and for a second it seemed as if he wanted to to tackle-hug him, but then he noticed the neck brace and only wrapped his arms around the other's upper body, giving him a careful squeeze.

"Sorry to disturb you so early in the morning," Tommy said, "but our Kitty-Eric couldn't stand it any longer."

"I'm so sorry that I couldn't visit you in the hospital more often. But as soon as I heard the news that you were out of the hospital I drove to your town. Drove almost all night. Crashed at Tommy's place for what little was left of the night. How are you? Do you have coffee? I could make us some coffee," the blonde guy babbled into Eric's ear.

"He didn't give me a warning that he was coming. Like usual," Tommy said. He looked tired but also had a big smile on his face.

"Kitty? He sounds more like a squirrel on cocaine," Ace commented. "You have weird friends."

A little while later they were all sitting on Eric's sofa, Tommy and Eric with a coffee in hand, Kitty-Eric only with a hot cocoa because Eric was afraid he might lift off and crash through the roof if given anything caffeinated.

"We're so glad that you're feeling alright again," Tommy said. "When we first saw you we were scared you wouldn't pull through but then you regained consciousness so fast again and you recovered so well, it really was a miracle."

"Hey, since Bruce still wants to keep quiet about the accident, maybe you could ask them instead," Ace suggested. "Just try not to be too obvious again though."

"Could you maybe tell me a bit more about what happened?" Eric asked.

"Well, Bruce came back to the lodge alone," Kitty-Eric started telling. "Said you ran off on your own. He had tried to search for you but also didn't want to wander around in the mountains alone in the dark and risk falling off a cliff. So he came back, looking for help. We organised some search teams. The other guests helped too. They were amazing. Figured out so quickly where you could have wandered off too, where you might have landed if you actually did fall off a cliff and where you might have tried to drag yourself to if you were still conscious. Without them we would have never found you that fast. You really were found some distance away from a cliff, unconscious and covered in wounds."

"Wait, you seriously fell off a damn cliff?!" Ace exclaimed.

"I remember… being carried by someone…" Eric slowly said.  
It wasn't much that he remembered, just that he was in someone's arms. He had no memory of who it was but he felt fear. He knew that he would die...

"Maybe Gene or Paul?" Kitty-Eric suggested. "They were the first to find you. But they also said you were completely unconscious at that time."

"As far as I know Bruce still has a hard time talking about the incident," Tommy continued. "The police investigated afterwards and at first he actually was under suspicion of attempted murder. But the case was quickly closed and ruled off as an accident as soon as you regained consciousness. You were quite vehement about Bruce's innocence."

Eric almost choked on his coffee. "Wait… what?!"

"Attempted murder? This guy?" Ace exclaimed. "Oh come on, stop bullshitting us!"

"Yeah, don't you remember anymore? He was the last to see you before the accident. They interrogated him for an entire day. I think they also found other clues, I don't know," Kitty-Eric shrugged. "But it doesn't really matter anymore now. You regained consciousness barely two days later and were really desperate about seeing Bruce. And when you heard what had happened you pretty much lost it - well, as far as someone in your weak condition could lose it anyways. And we believed in his innocence too. Not that we had much to proof it… But I drove all the way here and protested in front of the precinct for almost the entire day!"

"Until he was kicked off the premises and threatened with a fine," Tommy added. 

They also still talked about other things, tried to update Eric about events that he probably should have known about but currently didn't sound familiar to him. He barely took part in their conversations, not only because he would have known little to say but also because his mind was still occupied with thoughts about Bruce.

"You don't think he could have actually tried to harm you, do you?" Ace asked.

'I don't want to,' Eric thought. 'They trust him and I would like to as well. But it really makes me wonder what actually happened between us right before the accident. And who carried me? I was scared for my life. Were those really the people Kitty said?'

"Are you coming to watch the fireworks too today?" he heard Tommy's voice. "We said we'll meet up in the park and Bruce wanted to be there too."

Eric agreed. Mostly because he wanted to see Bruce again.

\----

"Alriiiight! Let's do this!" Kitty-Eric said happily, his arms full of firework rockets.

Tommy gawked at him flabbergasted. "Are you kidding me? We came here to watch the fireworks, not to start our own. Are we even allowed to do those here?"

"Probably not. But it's way more interesting to light your own and watch it up close."

"Oh for crying out loud… I came here to see fireworks with friends and not to babysit one of them so he wouldn't burn down the neighbourhood!"

Eric was sitting on a bench, holding a sparkler in his hands and watching his friends with a little grin on his face. Then he already saw Bruce arrive. He was shortly exchanging greetings before he walked over to Eric and sat down next to him. For a moment it seemed as if he wanted to give him a kiss but then he only ruffled up Eric's hair and leaned back.

"Hey there, I almost didn't notice you with your sparkler next to Kitty's wildfire. How are you feeling?"

"Alright I guess. At least I'm not in pain or anything. About my memories though…" Eric was still unsure how to put his thoughts into words but then he decided to just be direct. "These two filled me in about what happened - the accident and the following investigation. I don't believe it was your fault. But why do you still feel guilty? I feel bad for prying but… What happened between us that day?"

Bruce bit his lips and stared off into the distance. But after a moment he started talking.  
"Not much actually… just that I was a fucking nuisance. I know exactly how private you are about our relationship. Still I can't help teasing you with little displays of affection just to provoke a reaction and see you getting all flustered about it. But on this day I think I was just overdoing it. I don't even know anymore why I was so relentless. Maybe we had a bit too much to drink, maybe I was getting frustrated with all this privacy - but it's still no excuse to go so overboard with it to the point we almost got into a fight. And then when you ran off I didn't even follow you. Thought it was best to give you some time alone. Fuck, why did I let you alone that late in the evening in the middle of a forest in the mountains…"

"Look, Bruce, I'm an adult and you're not my nanny. I should have known better than to run off like a child, no matter how upset I was. I am sticking with my previous opinion. You are not at fault here." It even surprised Eric himself how forceful his voice had become.

Bruce gave him a sad smile. "Even now with your memories gone you still keep putting up with me and defending me. What have I done to deserve you." His smile faded as he turned away again. "What have you done to be punished with me… You know, these past few days I have been thinking it over a lot. How much I fucked up as a boyfriend. I pushed you into this whole thing, I kept annoying you about things you didn't want to do, but on the other hand I could hardly ever stand up for you, let alone protect you. What do you even see me as right now? A complete stranger? A childhood friend who you almost forgot about? Maybe this actually is a good time to let you go. You don't remember our relationship so I won't hurt you. We will just start out as friends again. It will probably be painful to me… Hell, I know it will hurt… But at least I won't completely lose you."

How could he be so sure that it wouldn't hurt just because Eric had lost his memories? Because right now it just felt as if someone had driven a knife into his chest.

He gave in to a sudden urge and reached out, gently brushed over Bruce's cheek, causing the other man to turn his head towards him in surprise.

"Or maybe… maybe it could be our chance to try a second time. From the beginning. Just try not to be so forceful this time." He was choking up but tried to hide it with a chuckle. His memories might have been vague at best but there was no doubt about how much he felt for Bruce. "But please… please don't leave me."

"Eric… I…"

Bruce didn't know what to say. But there also was no need to. Eric just pulled him closer and gave him a gentle kiss. Above them the sky lit up with explosions in a variety of colours.

\----

"Wow, you barely know this guy for three days and already think you love him. You're worse than some fairytale princess," Ace mocked as soon as they were back home again.

"Oh just shut it," Eric said with a chuckle. He still felt as if he was flying. The only thing that would have made this even more perfect would have been if he had remembered some more of their time together.

"Maybe your feelings for him also were a kind of memory," Ace assumed. "Even if it didn't seem like anything was pushing me out this time."

Eric really hoped so.

\----

Another time that the doorbell startled him early in the morning, only this time it kept ringing relentlessly.

He barely had opened it when Kitty-Eric pushed his way in, breathing heavily as if he had ran all the way here.

"This is bad, this is really bad!" he exclaimed. "Tommy just called me, well, he would have called you first but he realised neither of us had your new number so he called me instead and… Ah fuck, Bruce has been taken away by the police again!"

Eric felt as if someone had filled his stomach with ice.

"But… why? I thought this case was closed. It was an accident, nothing more."

"I don't know. Tommy forbade me to go to the precinct another time. He will go there but it might not be easy getting information about an ongoing case. I… I'll just stay with you for a little while, okay? Do you have tea? I could make us some tea. And sweets. Chocolate is good in situations like these."

Eric felt as if he was in a trance. Was this really happening right now? Everything felt so unreal.

A crash was heard from the kitchen.

"Oh shit! I broke a cup! Don't worry, I'll buy you a new one. It all will be fine. It will be fine, right?" 

"Yeah, the squirrel is right," Ace tried to cheer Eric up. "Who knows why they opened the case again but what can they do if the victim himself sticks to his testimony that it was an accident?"

Tommy who stopped by a few hours later unfortunately knew barely more than before. There might have been an anonymous tip, leading to more evidence, there might also have been talks about an abusive relationship. It only made Eric feel worse.

\----

For the next two days Eric barely even left his bedroom. He answered calls from Tommy or Kitty-Eric who now had his number but he didn't want anyone to visit. For two days he hadn't heard from Bruce.

Ace tried his best to cheer him up, he also reminded him that his amnesia might become worse again if he stayed in this one place for so long, but to no avail.

At some point a detective had shown up to ask him some questions. Why it seemed as if he had run away from the suspect, if he remembered being pushed or being dragged away after he had fallen, if there had been a history of violence or if he had ever been stalked by the suspect. Eric had tried to answer as good as possible even though he only remembered what others had told him. He just wanted Bruce to get cleared of suspicion.

"Someone is at the door again," Ace said weakly at the end of the second day.

"Let them ring," Eric mumbled. "If it's yet another detective they will make themselves known and if it's Tommy or Kitty they will give up after some time."

It didn't ring a second time though. Instead they heard the click of a door being unlocked.

"Eric? Are you home?" a familiar voice called out.

Could it really be? Eric rushed out onto the corridor.

Bruce looked very worn out but he still tried to smile at him. "Hey, I missed you…"

Before he could say any more Eric was already in his arms, pressing his face against his chest.

"This is nice… You're nice and warm…" Bruce tiredly mumbled into his hair. "Can we please stay like this for a while?"

"I wasn't with the police all this time," Bruce told him a while later. They were now on the sofa, Bruce leaning against Eric's shoulder. "There was one pretty rough day but then I was free to leave again, even though they told me they might come back with more questions. I then decided to take investigations into my own hands. Not only do I want this case to be finally over but more than anything else I want you to regain your memories. I'm so sorry that I didn't contact you but… hell, I think I was under surveillance and for two days I felt so paranoid that any form of contact to you could be their proof of me stalking you."

"I'm just glad you're here now," Eric quietly said. "But what did you do those past days?"

"I contacted the owner of the lodge we stayed at, a mister Peter Criss. I needed more information about the people who stayed at the lodge at that time and a way to invite them all over again. I wanted to recreate the events of that weekend, leading to the incident. He was reluctant at first but then he agreed to help me out. I already talked to Gene and Paul and made plans with them. Tommy, Kitty-Eric and Mark know about it too. There was also another guest someone called Vinnie, kind of an enigma, not even Criss knew where he had come from or when or how he had booked a room but he said he will try to find a number and get a hold of him."

Bruce looked up and into Eric's eyes.

"Eric… I have a suspicion that this wasn't an accident after all. Someone wanted to hurt you, maybe even kill you, and they are trying to frame me. If everything works out we will return to the place where it happened this weekend. You might remember things you would wish were left forgotten. But no matter what, I will protect you. I mean it."

And Eric didn't doubt it.

\----

"Yay, another weekend together! I'm so glad to see all of you people again!" Kitty-Eric shouted as soon as he had jumped out of the car and waved towards the building before he even knew who of the others had already arrived.

"He woke me up at 4 am," Tommy complained to Bruce, Eric and Mark as soon as he saw them. "By jumping on my freaking bed. I swear, as soon as we return he gets kicked out of my apartment…"

"Could we please hurry inside?" Mark asked. "I don't care much about freezing to death out here. Going on this trip was probably as much of a bad idea as last time…."

"Everyone else is here too!" Kitty-Eric exclaimed. "There's Gene and Paul and… there's… there's… Vi."

"Thanks for at least remembering half of my name," Vinnie said quietly and with a shy smile. "Thanks for inviting me here at all. I didn't expect anyone would even remember."

"I think you all know why we are here," Bruce said.

"Wait, didn't I see your face on the local news lately or something?" Peter asked, leaning over the counter at the reception. "Yeah, you're that guy who's being accused of almost murdering someone." There was no hostility in his voice though. He rather sounded as if he had just asked if Bruce still worked at the corner store of his old hometown.

"Wait, murder?" Paul called out. "I thought we were supposed to help someone regain his memories. I am NOT staying at the same place as a murderer."

"Only a suspect. Do your really think I would have let a murderer stay at my place?" Peter corrected.

"Well, even murderers pay for their rooms. So it would be business as usual for you," Gene said.

"He is innocent!" Kitty-Eric shouted. "Everyone here could be a suspect too!"

"Even me?" Peter asked. "Wouldn't that be bad for business?"

"Have you ever seen Psycho?" Gene asked.

Bruce repeatedly tried to get a word in but by now he had already completely lost control over the conversation.

"Everyone shut the fuck up! The pushover wants to talk!" Mark eventually shouted.

Bruce sighed. "Well, thanks… Yes it's true that I'm a suspect - just as much as everyone else here. But my main reason why we invited you here still stands. I want to help Eric. And I really hope you could help us too."

Paul still remained reluctant but when Gene agreed he did too.

They had tried to recreate their last stay as good as possible, even taken the same rooms - with that the two Erics shared a room, Tommy and Bruce had the room next to them, then there were Paul and Gene, only Vinnie and Mark had single bedrooms. Their plan to investigate the site of the incident and the surrounding areas had to be delayed until the next morning though. Going out in this area while it was already getting dark they would only risk another accident.

"Don't worry, if there really IS a culprit among us I will protect you too," Kitty-Eric promised as they brought their bags to their rooms and unpacked what little they had brought for the weekend.

"No offense but he seems as threatening as a cupcake," Ace remarked.

That's probably what Bruce also had thought since before they had separated in front of their rooms he had urged Eric to come to him as soon as he felt threatened by anything. It wasn't like he suspected Kitty - but he also wouldn't trust him with anyone's life.

Although it was already evening none of the guests seemed to want to stay locked in their rooms yet. They got together for dinner again and then kept hanging out in the dining area for a few more hours, just chatting or playing whatever games Peter could find. Vinnie was the only one who at first still tried to keep to himself, but he also didn't refuse when Eric waved him over to join the rest of the group.

After a while Eric felt like he could need some more to drink. He couldn't spot Peter anywhere though, maybe their host had already retreated for the night. It would be only a short walk to the kitchen and back, no need to bother anyone. But still…

"Hey, Bruce, could you come with me for a moment?"

Bruce actually seemed glad that Eric had asked him.

"Maybe we should get something for the others too," he suggested as he dragged forth some bottles from the kitchen counter. "Just the usual soft drinks or should we make something? Do you think they might appreciate coffee that late? I sure wouldn't mind one."

Eric chuckled. "Better not. Kitty would want some too. And then I have to deal with him throughout the entire night." He turned around when he heard someone approach. "Oh, Vinnie, are you here to get something to drink as well? You could help us carry some bottles."

Vinnie quietly nodded and took a few bottles.  
"You really get along well," he suddenly said.

"Well, yeah, Eric and I are friends since childhood," Bruce said.

"Not just you two. Also Gene and Paul and depending on the timeline Peter, Tommy and the other Eric as well. No matter when or where you meet, there is always this certain kind of connection between you. It's actually making me a little jealous."

Bruce and Eric exchanged a confused look.

"You're a part of this group now too, Vinnie," Eric said. "Still you sound as if you consider yourself an outsider."

"Oh, I'm … a little different." He chuckled quietly as he saw both if their faces. "Sorry, don't mind me. I just wanted to give you a little to think."

He grabbed his bottles and left.

"He sounds like he's a little high," Bruce whispered to Eric.

\----

"So today you want us to trace the events of that particular evening," Gene said during breakfast.

Bruce nodded. "As good as possible. Also as far as I know the police wasn't very thorough with their investigation back then. So while we are out I am asking you to please look out for clues they might have missed."

"The ground is frozen right now for example so prints would stay for a long time," Vinnie said.

"Guess it would be better to plan this out first. Wouldn't want any more accidents out here. So what happened this evening? If I still remember correctly first you came back and barely had time to tell us what happened before the blonde Eric ran out like a headless chicken, Tommy followed him, only a bit later Mark did too. Vinnie warned us how dangerous this area could be, got a map from Peter and they, Paul and I marked some possible routes for Eric. Then Paul and I headed out too while Vinnie, Peter and you stayed at the lodge," Gene summed up the events.

"We didn't stay in the same room all the time though, just for clarification," Bruce added. "So it is set. Kitty, Tommy and Mark will try to retrace their chaotic steps. Paul and Gene, you take the route that led you to Eric. Eric and I will stick to the path of top of the cliffs. Vinnie… I don't think there is much to find at the lodge, so you could come with us. And please, for the love of everything, stick together with your groups." During these words he especially looked at Kitty-Eric.

\----

Even during the day the forest was dark. During the night it was probably almost impossible to see anything. Why had they been out here in the first place?

Bruce looked around, seemingly searching for something in particular, then after a while he waved Eric to come closer.

As soon as Eric did he found himself being pushed against a tree, Bruce leaning so close to him that he could feel his warm breath on his face. He felt his heart pounding rapidly, but definitely not out of fear.

"Why did you have to choose a room with Kitty? Why not with me? We could have had so much alone time together," Bruce said in a low, quiet voice.

"Was… was this what you said to me back then?" Eric asked. Was Vinnie still somewhere nearby watching them? He could neither see nor hear him.

"Yeah, something along those lines," Bruce replied. "What did you say afterwards, what happened then? Please, try to remember."

They were surrounded by darkness. But that didn't change anything. Someone still could have heard them.  
Eric pushed Bruce away.  
"Knock it off already for fuck's sake!" He tried to sound as quiet but also as forceful as possible.  
"And what's your problem now? It's dark. Fucking no one is here." Bruce sounded annoyed.  
"My problem? You've been like this all day long. Is it really so hard to get that I don't want this to be public? Do you have to rub it into everybody's faces?"  
"Into their faces? A bit of trying to hold your hand under the table, a small peck on the cheek when no one is in the room - that is rubbing it into their faces?? Hell, I'm not even sure anymore if I can still give you a hug without you freaking out!"  
He had a point - Eric was freaking out. Freaking out about pretty much everything. He was scared to be seen, of what people might think, of how fast this all was going, that Bruce might expect too much from him, that it would break their friendship apart,...  
"Whatever…," he mumbled, spun around and rushed off as fast as he could in the dark. He didn't care where he was going, just wanted to get away. Bruce didn't follow him.  
He had been walking along what felt like a path underneath his feet for a few minutes when suddenly a flashlight was shone into his face. He quickly turned away, tried to shield his eyes with his arm. Behind the brightness he could barely make out a tall figure.

"I… I wasn't alone," Eric stammered out. "There… someone was right there with me before it happened."

Bruce was still holding his shoulders. "So you remembered something?"

"Yes, but… not who it was. Fuck, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. I don't want to force your memories."

"No, not just that. I'm so sorry about everything. Why was I so… such a bitch? Why was I freaking out so much over nothing?"

"Why did I become so insufferable? Guess sometimes love can be frightening," Bruce said. "But we both deserve a new start."

"Eric? Eric, can you hear me?" It was Ace's voice. It actually took Eric a while to make out the spirit, even though he was standing right next to Bruce. Ace had become almost completely transparent. "Thank goodness, I already thought you could neither hear nor see me anymore. Our connection is still there but that must have been some pretty important memory. Probably doesn't take that much more before I'm pushed out completely."

"Guys, I think I found the place where Eric slipped," Vinnie called out from up ahead.

Bruce automatically took a step away, much to the dismay of Eric who now missed his warmth.

Footprints were really hard to make out but there was definitely more than one pair. It didn't seem like a fight had happened though. Had Eric just stepped back and lost balance? Or had he been pushed?

Looking down the cliff made Eric feel dizzy. Had it been one steep drop he would have been dead for sure. But it was sloped and a lot of underbrush had been there to break his fall. It would have left him badly hurt but at least he survived.

Bruce was staring down the slope too, biting his lip. His fists were balled so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.  
"Let's move on," he suddenly said. "I don't want to stay at this place in this cold any longer."

\----

Later in the evening when they had all returned to the lodge they discussed their findings and showed the pictures they made.

"We saw markings and traces possibly left by the police in the area where we had found Eric," Gene told them. "It has become clear why they started to suspect foul play. There were traces of blood indicating that Eric had remained in the same spot for quite some time, but the other team had found similar traces at the bottom of the cliff as well. So either Eric had woken up, walked for a while and then broken down again, which seems very unlikely, or he had been moved. Some deeper footprints led from the scene to the lodge - those had been left by me as I carried Eric back - but there are also a few deeper prints between the bloodstains. Who they belong to we cannot say for sure though. It's not like we all came to this place wearing the same boots we did a few weeks ago."

Bruce sighed. "This will have to suffice for now, even if it didn't prove my innocence. I will hand in everything we found to the police. The rest is up to them."

\----

In the middle of the night Eric was suddenly woken by a loud scream.

"Wasn't that… That was the squirrel-guy!" Ace exclaimed. "Eric, turn on the lights!"

Eric fumbled around in the dark until he finally found the switch. Kitty-Eric wasn't in the room. The door was unlocked. He rushed out onto the corridor. A few other people already were out as well. Bruce, Tommy and Mark knelt around Kitty who was sitting at the bottom of the stairs hyperventilating.

"Deep breaths, everything's going to be okay. We're all here now," Tommy tried to calm him.

"So-someone... pushed me. Someone pushed me down the stairs!"

Bruce frowned. "What did you say?"

"I was out on my way to the bathroom. When I reached the stairs someone was there. They pushed me!"

"There, there, I'm sure it was scary but it's all okay now," Mark said.

"Nothing is okay! There is a criminal here!"

"Are you absolutely sure?" Bruce asked. "Maybe it just felt that way. Maybe there was someone on the way back to his room and bumped into you. Try to really think about it."

"But if that was actually the case then by now someone would have already come up being like 'Oops, sorry for bumping into you'," Ace pointed out.

Kitty-Eric took a few more deep breaths. "Now that you say it… No… I am not sure."

"Pretty impressive though. If someone really did push him they can put up quite an act," Gene's voice was heard. He, Paul, Vinnie and Peter had now also left their rooms to see what was going on.

"Maybe this is all just an act on his side though," Paul said. "The actual culprit fakes being attacked when they are at risk of being discovered while disposing of evidence. It's a pretty well known trope in crime stories."

"Are you calling ME a culprit now?" Kitty-Eric called out.

"I only pointed out a possibility."

"Regardless," Bruce said, "I think it would be best if everyone stayed inside their rooms for the rest of the night." He stood up and turned to Eric. "But no matter if this was an accident or an act or on purpose, it's even more dangerous for you. The culprit was a criminal who tried to kill you after all. If he is determined enough to eliminate people who interfere he might also attack you directly. After all, if you regained all of your memories it would be really bad for him. Eric, I want you to stay with me tonight. Tommy can move to Kitty's room. I just… I don't want you to be with anyone else."

Eric quietly nodded. He felt scared but if there was someone he could trust right now it was Bruce.

\----

"All this time I still hoped it was just an accident," Bruce said as soon as they were back in their room. "Even if someone was up there with you - it didn't mean they pushed you on purpose. But I think I was just naive. At least they don't seem to be armed or else we would have had an entire different situation here."  
He sat down on one of the beds and nodded towards the other.  
"You could try to still get some sleep. I'll keep watch over you."

"Bruce… can I… can I sleep next to you?"

"Of course. What kind of stupid question is that?" He gave Eric a warm smile.

Eric sat down next to him, leaning his head against Bruce's shoulder.

"Are you scared too?"

Bruce didn't immediately answer, but after a while he quietly replied, "Yeah, I am scared. Not about my own safety but about having to hurt someone else if it came to the worst. But I have already sworn to myself that I want to protect you, no matter what."  
He wrapped an arm around Eric's shoulders.  
"This isn't really the time for me to feel happy… but I am. I'm happy that you're still with me and that you put your trust in me."

\----

There were no further incidents during the rest of the night. Still when they met again the next morning and prepared for their departure barely anyone seemed to have gotten much sleep. Kitty complained about still hurting all over.

"Are you sure you can drive?" Eric asked Bruce. "You haven't slept at all. Maybe Mark should take the wheel. He looks at least somewhat more rested."

But Bruce insisted on it. And he also insisted that Eric would stay over at his place, at least until tomorrow.

\----

Bruce was already up when Eric awoke the next morning. Seeing the grave expression on his face Eric almost asked who died.

"There are still some clarifications I would like to have before going to the police," Bruce told him. "I still really hope that my suspicions are wrong. But if not this could be painful for you. I don't want to hurt you. But I also don't think it really matters if you find out now - because if I'm right then you already know who the culprit is. It's buried somewhere deep in your memories." He paused before adding, "We have to see Mark today."

\----

Bruce had chosen to meet at a side street - quiet enough to keep a private conversation but still busy enough, just in case to keep things from getting ugly.

"I am sorry to bother you," Bruce said, "especially since it sounded you were really busy. But there are still some matters I need to settle and they couldn't wait any longer."  
He dropped his polite demeanor when the next thing he said was, "On that day you were the one who was on the cliff with Eric. And it was also you who carried him deeper into the forest."

"Nice theory. And how did you get to that conclusion?"  
He wasn't denying it. If anything he only sounded mildly interested.

"Mostly process of elimination. I talked to others at the lodge and while they weren't together all the time they at least had seen each other occasionally. No one was gone for long enough to make it out there except for you and me. And even if it had been me up on the cliff, that still doesn't explain who carried him away from there before dropping him again. It couldn't have been me - Peter can vouch for that, maybe Vinnie too even though I only saw him occasionally. We also can exclude Gene and Paul - they left to search for Eric too but with a clearer route in mind than you, Tommy or Kitty and they also returned quite fast. When you returned there probably was blood on your clothes but in the chaos no one would have noticed. Eric was still bleeding so all you would have needed to do was to rush over to him and then pretend that this was how you had gotten his blood on you. What you couldn't or didn't think to cover up though were your footprints in the now frozen ground."

"But wouldn't the culprit then have destroyed his boots instead?"  
Mark still sounded so calm, it was giving Eric chills.

"Funny that you brought that up. Because this morning I got an interesting message - from Vinnie. This amazing whackjob took photos of everyone and everything - including our shoes lying in front of the doors. Which of them belong to the prints is up to the police to find out. But it's not the only thing I have. There were two reasons I wanted to go back to the lodge. The first was to get Eric's memory back. The second to see if the culprit would go out and try to destroy evidence."

"But you don't know what I was doing while we were all out investigating."

"I do. I had Kitty follow you and record you."

For the first time Mark's stoic demeanor faltered.

"I also had him keep watch at night," Bruce continued. "If it had been me or Tommy keeping an eye on you you would have been more vigilant. But who would have expected the little hyperactive guy to be out on a spying mission? I'm feeling bad now that I put him at risk but I also had never expected something like that to happen."

"That was just an accident," Mark protested. "I was out in the middle of the night, he startled me when he called out to me and I ended up elbowing him."

"And what about Eric when you met him at the cliff?"

For a moment Mark paused, seemed to consider what to say next.  
"An accident too. I walked up to him with a flashlight in the dark. It probably blinded him, he took some steps back and fell. I never wanted this to happen. But I also never came forward because it already was quickly declared an accident. I had no idea the case was reopened until this weekend. And even then I still thought you would be declared innocent and they would quickly close it again. Because it still IS an accident."

"Is it really though?" Bruce turned around abruptly and grabbed Eric's shoulders. "Eric, please, I need you to remember. What happened that night?"

"Stop forcing him to remember something he wanted to forget!" Mark angrily said.

But why…?

Why didn't he want him to remember?

Maybe because he could be a threat if he remembered…

"Mark?" Eric asked blinking against the light. "What do you want?" He really didn't need anyone's company right now.

"Did you now also follow me up here? Can I never be left alone?" Mark sounded pissed. "Wasn't it enough that you dragged me here just to humiliate me?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know exactly how much effort I put into this bloody band. How this was my dream. You were just riding on my coattails. And then when I had finally beaten you into showing some engagement and we started to have a little bit of success you kicked me out and replaced me. You kicked me out of my own fucking band!"

Eric took a few cautious steps away. It never had been Mark's band to begin with but a project of Bruce and Eric, Mark had joined later and they only had called him because they knew him from childhood and knew that one of his dreams back then was to play in a band. They all had put everything they could into their project. And they had separated because neither of them could really work together with Mark. Also the first tiny successes they only had long after Tommy joined. But Eric didn't say any of it out loud. He didn't want to anger Mark more than he already was.

"And now you have the audacity to drag me up here together with your new bastard and brag about what I could have been part of!"

Despite Eric's best effort to avoid him without stumbling over anything in the darkness Mark had come uncomfortably close.

"And you?! Nothing else to say?!"

A hand was slammed against his chest. Eric stumbled backwards. The ground under his feet suddenly gave in. He was sliding down, fast. His body hit against rocks and plants, they tore his skin open. When he finally came to a halt he was barely conscious anymore, but he fought to not drift off into darkness.

He didn't know how long he had already been lying like this when he heard footsteps approach. He tried to cry out for help but all that came was a quiet whimper.

"Oh shit…" he heard Mark's voice. "He's still alive. If they hear what happened it's my ass. What should I do?"

The footsteps circled around him for a little while then he was roughly dragged up and carried away. But not towards the lodge. Mark carried him deeper into the forest. Eric was breathing heavily. He wanted to struggle, to get himself out of Mark's grip, but he could barely move. He was scared like never before in his life. If he was just dropped somewhere in this forest they would never find him. He knew he would die, alone in the dark and the cold.

"No! You won't hurt him! I won't let it happen again!" another voice suddenly was heard. Wasn't this Vinnie? It was quivering with fear but Eric was almost sure it was Vinnie's voice.

"What are you…?"

Mark stopped, took a few steps back. His grip on Eric loosened. Eric still felt how he connected with the ground. And then there was darkness…

No…

This couldn't have been a real memory…

Someone he knew from childhood… someone who used to be a friend wanted to see him dead because he was jealous of what little success he had in life…

And then those anonymous tips to the police… Had he tried to ruin Bruce's life as well?

He was surrounded by grey fog. Ace now was completely transparent, he could only make out a few lines of his clothes and his facepaint.

"Seems like I have been pushed out completely now. I can finally go back where I belong. There are still some things you don't remember but don't worry, they will come back to you soon."

"Ace… you are leaving?" Eric suddenly felt empty. He didn't want to be left alone with this last memory.

"Oh you won't be alone. You have a reliable knight by your side after all." Ace chuckled. "You might forget about me soon but I will never forget about you."

Reality slowly returned around him. He felt tears running down his cheeks.

"He pushed me," he mumbled. "At first this might have still been an accident. He hadn't wanted this to happen. But then he returned… and he… he didn't want me to be found. He carried me into the forest…"

Bruce's grip on his shoulders tightened.

"Be glad we are still in public," he snarled at Mark. "Be very glad."

"He dropped me because Vinnie was suddenly there…" Eric continued. "I don't know what happened afterwards. But if the police needs another witness testimony..."

Why hadn't Vinnie come forth as a witness before? Eric could only guess that he might have been scared of what Mark would do?

"Vinnie? I thought he was in the lodge all this time." Bruce seemed confused, but only for a moment. "Doesn't matter how he did it. I will try to get in contact with him." He glared at Mark. "And you don't even think about getting out of it this time."

Mark shrugged. "What for? Knowing you you already submitted everything you had to the police before we met. All this meeting was good for was to get one last memory out of Eric and rub everything you accomplished into my face. Like you usually do."

And even now there was not a hint of remorse in his voice. It hurt Eric even more.

Bruce grabbed Eric's arm.  
"Come, let's go. I just want to get away from here."

\----

Two days had passed. The investigations were still ongoing but Bruce had been acquitted of all charges by now. Vinnie had sent in his testimony but he wasn't available for further questioning. He seemed to have disappeared without a trace.

Eric and Bruce were walking through the streets - hand in hand and Eric absolutely didn't mind. This would be their first actual date since they had been together.

"You know I love you, I really love you," Bruce quietly told him.

Eric returned his smile. "And I love you too."

Even if the events of the past days were still on his mind he tried not to dwell on them. There was so much more of his future to look forward to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not the end of the story yet. Just the end of the first route.


	3. Gene

Ace turned around. "So which path would you like to take? There are only a few leading here. I know that you can't remember but just a gut feeling would already help me out."

Eric's head was spinning. Why did this all seem so familiar? Why did he feel as if a part of him had just wandered off to go on an adventure in a different dimension? He shook his head and tried to focus on the paths before him. "I think I'll take this one." 

When Eric opened his eyes again he was lying on a bed. It still seemed to be early in the morning guessing by the alarm clock next to his bed. So he probably had still been asleep when Ace had collided with his mind. Or had this been just a really weird dream after all? 

"Good morning sleeping beauty, rise and shine," Ace said, kneeling next to his bed. "Can you still see and hear me? Do you remember who I am?" 

"Our friendly neighbourhood ghost," Eric mumbled as he sat up and started to look around. He still could barely remember a thing but at least he didn't feel as dizzy anymore.

Ace chuckled. "Well, at least you seem to be alright enough to still make jokes. Y'know, while you were sleeping I was already looking around as far as I could without having to interact with anything. It's a small apartment and you seem to live alone here. Could be an advantage since it won't be noticeable immediately when you behave strangely. But on the other hand you could have learned a lot from family or a partner. There is a calendar on the wall and some dates are circled with different colours. Seems like you have to be somewhere on these days, maybe jobs or you'll be meeting with someone. But it looks like we still have a bit of time to figure out what the colours mean and thankfully also before you have to meet anyone."

"Oh, I like meeting people," Eric said. 

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Have you already forgotten what we talked about or are you just naive? As long as you barely remember anything you have to be careful or people will take advantage of you. The fewer people you meet the better." 

Eric didn't respond, instead he stood up and walked through the room, looking for any clues that he could find in drawers or wardrobes. He didn't like that he was being called naive but he also knew that Ace had a point. 

"Hey, I found my cellphone. At least I think it's mine." 

"This is it! The ultimate source of information," Ace called out. His eyes widened when Eric went through the contact info. "What the…? Who the hell has 1250 contacts saved? I didn't even know that was possible. Sure, there are some contacts like 'dentist' or 'plumber' and several are labelled as uncles or aunts or cousins - huge family you have there - but… Damn, I sure believe you when you say you like meeting people. Let's check your messages next." His expression turned to one of confusion. "Only five messages received total and none sent? You have 1250 contacts but only five messages that you didn't even reply to? I hope you weren't actually a pretty lonely guy after all…" 

"The oldest is from three days ago," Eric said. "I think I just got a new phone but kept my old number. So I didn't need to inform all those people about a new number and it might have been just during the past three days that I didn't get any new messages yet." The phone also still looked shiny and new. 

He clicked on the oldest message. Maybe it contained something useful. 

"Good night," it read. Well, not much to go by other than that it was sent by a contact named Gene and that maybe he could have been close to that person. He clicked through the next messages.  
"Good morning"  
"Good night"  
"Good morning"  
"Good night" 

"Oh come on!" Ace called out in frustration. "You're getting the same messages from the same person and even at exactly the same times every day. Is this some kind of bot or what was this guy trying to accomplish?" 

"Maybe he's just really bad at writing messages," Eric said. Though if this was actually a real person writing it seemed to Eric like he was sending messages as if it was an obligation. That moment the message tone rang out again, at the right moment for a 'good morning' so that's what Eric expected as he opened the message. 

"Meet me at the Cat & Rooster. We have to talk. I'll wait until you show up."

"That sounds like a breakup was in the making…" Ace said. "No wonder he was so curt with his messages. Geez, seems like we're starting in hard mode here. And what kind of name is Cat & Rooster even? Sounds like some shady inn from a fantasy novel. Wait, don't reply to his message yet. What if he's some kind of crazy stalker? I mean, after all you didn't message him once during these past three days. As shady as this place sounds, I think you should at least go there first and check it out. If this really turns out to be a shady place and situation you can still leave. But if he really is your boyfriend maybe you have just been fighting over something silly and you can still talk it out… somehow. Now we just need to find out where this weird place is located. I spotted a PC earlier during my investigations. Hopefully we have landed in a timeline in which internet is already a household thing."

With a name like that it wasn't hard to find. It seemed to be something like a bar or a club. Unusual that this kind of location was still open in the morning but if someone wanted to meet him there it had to be. It also was an unusual choice to go to a place like that to talk about something important. But he could question Gene's tastes later, for now he just noted down the address and the path he had to take. On foot he could be there within maybe half an hour.

The bar was located in a pretty lively shopping district. Ace tilted his head as he studied its logo. "It's a cat… riding on a rooster…" A grin suddenly spread over his face. "Oohhh, I get it."

Eric barely paid attention to him. His mind was on the situation he had to face within a few seconds - either a breakup or a weird stalker and in either case he had to be careful to not show his amnesia. He took a few deep breaths then entered the place.

Only a few people were still around and it actually looked as if the bar was already about to close for the day. Two tall guys carrying pieces of stage equipment walked past him. 

"Oh, hey Eric, long time no see. Where have you been all this time?" one of them asked with a chuckle. The other one grinned too and greeted him with a nod.

They definitely seemed to know him but hadn't really waited for him. So where was Gene? 

Another shorter guy with glasses walked past as well. "Eric! Didn't expect to see you so early. I was sure you'd sleep for the entire day."

Not Gene either. So where was he? Eric decided it was for the best if he just took a seat and waited. He sat down at a table, still in the line of sight of the guy with the glasses who was now cleaning things behind the bar and let his gaze wander.

"Wow, this guy over there is tall and scary looking," Ace said. "Not that he is scary just because he's tall. Some of the others here were too. But unlike him they didn't have the faces of serial killers. And he's staring at you."

He didn't just settle for staring though but eventually walked over. Ace despite being invisible to others looked as if he wanted to hide. Eric while not sharing his fear still felt nervous. 

"Why are you sitting over there?" the tall guy asked. "Do you want to tell me that you don't want to be anywhere near me anymore? But then why did you come here in the first place? I can understand that you want to complain about my attitude but I can't read your mind. You need to make your demands more clear. I have done my research on relationships and am trying to improve my actions but I can't really do that if you don't tell me what you're upset about."

"So this is… Gene?" Ace asked. "Well, at least it kinda seems as if you two are in some sort of relationship and have been in a fight." 

"Uhm… Could you at least say something? You're so unusually quiet," Gene said. 

Eric finally broke out of his stupor and quickly gestured at the chair next to him. "Oh, yes, of course, please have a seat."

Gene raised an eyebrow but then sat down. And resumed his quiet staring.

"He's scary…" Ace whined. "And what is he trying to accomplish here? Winning a staring contest." 

Eric shifted nervously on his seat. Was he expected to do or say something?

Finally Gene leaned back with an annoyed sigh. "Why don't you just blurt out like usual what my problem is? We will likely end up in another argument but if you stay quiet I won't know what you're even mad about this time. Yesterday you still shouted at me and now you're giving me the silent treatment. Or are you afraid of losing an argument? Maybe for a change you should swallow your pride and apologise to me."

"Wow, really bad timing indeed to lose your memories," Ace said. "I can't even imagine how unhappy you already must have been in this relationship before."

Eric couldn't either. All he knew was that he felt uncomfortable and wanted this conversation to be over. And one possible option was to apologise just for the sake of ending this fight.  
"Gene… I'm sorry about yesterday." He didn't know what he even apologised for but he still managed to make it sound genuine. 

For a moment Gene's eyes widened and he stared at him completely speechless.  
"What the… You're suddenly apologising to me? What happened to you? Don't tell me you experienced some kind of brain damage." 

Wow, what kind of relationship did they have before, that a simple apology already threw him off like that?

"It seems relationships are made of countless mysteries that are still beyond my understanding," Gene said and cleared his throat. "I… uhm… I apologise too. I spoke childishly and, thinking about it, if I had continued in that tone I might only have provoked another argument. I'm sorry…" He bit his lips and looked as uncomfortable as Eric felt. "Can we leave now? All our equipment has already been packed up and Bruce is driving it back. I don't want to keep them any longer from closing the club for today. Let's take a walk." 

Ace let out his breath. "That was a rocky start… But at least he doesn't seem mad anymore. And he didn't mention what you were even fighting about. So it surely couldn't have been anything severe. Hey, wait, where is he?" 

While Eric had been spacing out Gene had already left so Eric had to rush after him.  
Out on the street Gene didn't wait or even slow down one bit. He kept his fast pace and Eric struggled to keep up with him.

"Hey, is this supposed to be a race?" Ace complained. "For each step you creepy giant are doing he has to do two on his tiny legs. Think of his tiny legs. He can barely keep up with you." 

"Oh please, shut it. He can't hear you and you don't need to remind me how small I am," Eric thought.

For a good while they walked or rather rushed in complete silence. Somehow the area seemed familiar to Eric. Of course - it was the route he had taken earlier. So was Gene just walking him home?

In front of his place they finally stopped and while Eric tried to catch his breath the tall guy turned around and asked, "Do you want to walk some more? I'm not particularly interested but if you are let me know."

"What… what even was the purpose of this power walk?" Eric asked.

"Oh, were my intentions too unclear? This was supposed to be a date."

"A date? This??" 

"When I asked Paul what newly dating couples are usually doing he told me to walk aimlessly on quiet routes and such. I did exactly as he told me but what purpose was there to it? Neither of us seemed to enjoy themselves very much. Could it be possible that I misunderstood him?"

"I think Paul rather meant things like casual window shopping or a stroll around the parks and not a race to my home."

Gene seemed to think it over. "I will take it into consideration next time. At the risk of repeating myself, relationships are still a mystery to me. So if you have any requests or complaints, please tell me. If there's nothing in particular you'd like to do now please excuse me. I need to go back to the lab. There's still more work to do."

And before Eric could even think of a reply he left.

"That sure was strange," Ace said as soon as they were back inside. "He might look scary, seems to have no idea how a relationship works, takes things way too serious and literal and you two might have had your problems with each other in the past. But he generally doesn't seem to be a bad guy, at least not on purpose. I'd still be careful around him when it comes to your amnesia. I'm sure he'd immediately send you to a hospital when he finds out. And I wonder what his job is. At the club he was talking about packing up their equipment so it sounded like he was with a band or something but now he was talking about going back to a lab."

"Well, I guess all I can do is to keep hanging out with him and hopefully I will get more information about myself from him," Eric said. "At least there don't seem to be any more urgent problems to address." 

The message tone of his phone rang out. It wasn't the right time of day for it yet but it was a message from Gene. 

"You told me that you're annoyed by my plain 'Good morning' and 'Good night'. But what else do you want me to write?" 

"Well, something with more emotions for once," Ace mumbled. 

"Just 'Good morning' and 'Good night' are okay," Eric texted back. 

"And that after you were so stubborn and complained so much about it yesterday," came the reply. "Why the sudden change of mind? I'm still trying to adapt to what you would consider a relationship so I would prefer if you expressed your complaints. But I'm not too good at finding the right words for text messages so I'd prefer shorter texts." 

What a complicated individual. But at least he seemed to try his best.

Since he didn't know anything else to do he decided to take a more thorough search through his apartment. He barely had the time for it in the morning anyways. His gaze landed on the calendar with the circled dates again. One of the colours appeared regularly. Maybe a part time job? And what about the other markings? Meetings with friends? Some kind of practice or training?  
The possible job was a more pressing matter, the next circle was in three days already. For the others he still had a bit more time. What should he do? So far Gene was his only source of information. But he couldn't simply ask him where he worked without raising suspicion.

"Could we take a walk to my workplace tomorrow?" he texted Gene.

"I thought you didn't enjoy our walk. Or did you like it after all? Or do you just want to give me another chance?" came the reply. "But why do you want to visit your workplace on your day off? We have just been there today. Did you forget something?"

'Yeah, everything,' Eric thought. So he was working at that club? Was he a bartender or something?

"While walks are part of my daily routine," Gene's next message continued, "I'd rather prefer to keep working. Maybe you could just retrieve your forgotten item tomorrow in the late afternoon once the bar opens. There should still be enough time to do that before you come to visit me."

Visit him? But where? At his home? Or at whatever lab he might be working at? How could he possibly ask for that without raising suspicion?

Other than Gene's obligatory "Good night" in the evening no more texts were exchanged between them this day. Neither Ace nor Eric had any idea how to ask about their meeting location and could only hope for a sudden flash of wit by next afternoon.

The club had only just opened when Eric arrived and there were barely any guests around yet. A few posters announced past and upcoming events. Two nights ago there apparently had been a band named Kiss. Was this Gene's band? That guy with the glasses was behind the bar again and he thought he also had seen one of the tall guys with one of the customers. Eric wandered around between the tables, tried to watch the staff while staying out of sight at the same time. He wasn't too successful at it. After just a few minutes the guy from the bar waved him over.

"Hi, Eric, back so soon already? Didn't expect you to hang out here so often on your days off."

"I…" Eric's brain desperately tried to come up with an excuse. "I just wanted to watch for a little while. Had the feeling my work was lacking lately." That was probably the lamest excuse he could have come up with… 

The barkeeper gave him a pensive look. "Yeah, you really have messed up some drinks lately. Thought you were just nervous about your gig. But I think I can lend you my notes. Just make sure you return them on your next work day."

He went to look for something and then handed Eric a small folder. In a corner at the front it said "Peter". So now there was at least one more name to go by. Eric thanked him and knowing nothing else to do he left.

Now it was time to take care of the next problem. How to find out where Gene lived - or worked or whatever. And what did Peter say before? Nervous about his gig? So was he with a band too? Could that mean the other circles on the calendar were band practices or recording sessions or something? Who else was he with? 

"Hey, isn't that Gene over there?" Ace suddenly called out. 

It sure was. What was he doing here? He seemed to be in deep thought, not noticing anyone or anything around him. And then he walked into a lamp post. And apologised to the lamp. Eric tried to suppress a chuckle while Ace next to him almost fell over with laughter.

"Oh, Eric, I didn't notice you before. Are you done already?" Gene said when he finally looked around and spotted his boyfriend on the other side of the street. "I decided to take this chance for another walk with you after all and came to pick you up."

He turned around and speed walked away again but when Eric who was still surprised by his sudden luck didn't immediately follow he stopped and looked at him.

"Why aren't you coming? Are you still mad about two days ago? Or is there something else you want to tell me? Do you want to break up already?" He let out a humourless chuckle. "That would be a quite interesting change of mind. It hasn't even been a week since we started dating and you're throwing in the towel already?" 

"A week?!" Ace exclaimed. "Shouldn't couples who have been dating for just a week be all over each other and be embarrassing to everyone around them? And wasn't it his idea to come and pick you up? So why is he so bitter about it?" 

"No response? I expected the usual barrage of chatter from you," Gene said but at the same time he seemed to become a little less tense.

"Are we… Are we going to your place?" Eric asked. 

"Yes, why are you so timid about it? Are you afraid I might go too far just because we are alone? I'm aware of my reputation. But unlike a one night stand which is only a spur of the moment event a relationship gradually moves from one defined stage to the next. We aren't even past the first stage yet. Skipping any stage would simply be assault. Is that what has been on your mind lately? That I might assault you?" For a moment he looked worried. "If I came across like that I am sorry. I simply wanted to do more things fitting for the first stage of our relationship and spend more time with you. But I still have a lot of research to do and also need to prepare a presentation for the university. That's why I wanted to have you over. So I can spend time with you without having to interrupt my work." He gave Eric, who still stared at him slightly confused, a long concerned look. "Something is wrong with you. Since yesterday you have been far too quiet. Not that I liked our arguments but at least I knew what was bothering you. But I guess with your silence you want to tell me that it's not my business so I will try not to bother you about it anymore. So if we are in agreement about taking a walk and you staying over at my place, come, let's go."

Eric could only shrug and follow.

Gene's distant and analytical personality stood in grave contrast to the utter chaos in his apartment. This guy apparently did not believe in putting things back where they belonged after using them.

"Look, there's several shelves of plants over there," Ace said. "Maybe he's actually a chaotic softie at heart when he's taking care of so many." He read the labels on the pots. "Fluid: Orange juice, nutrient: hamster food, interval: once a week. What the… And this one says, fluid: milk, nutrient: bird seeds, interval: twice a month. What is wrong with that guy?!" 

"What is it? Is something wrong with the yoghurt grass?" Gene asked and took a look at the plants as well. "No, everything still seems to be in order." He walked over to a sofa, started to clear it from sheets of paper, some pizza boxes, clothes, a bass and another potted plant. "I'm sorry, I don't get visitors often. So uhm… You could sit here and… read a book or play on my bass or something. I'll be over there at my desk doing my paperwork."

"He invites us over and then just leaves us alone and goes back to his work. What kind of host is that? No wonder you were always arguing with him before," Ace complained. He let out a sigh. "Oh well, you could try reading through Peter's notes. You need that knowledge in a few days after all."

Eric couldn't sit still and concentrate for too long though, not while being surrounded by chaos. He started to pick up the empty boxes and other trash he found, folded clothes and put them in neat stacks, put books and the potted plants back on shelves.

Gene took a short glance back but then quickly returned to his work. "I uhm… thank you… a lot," he mumbled.

"What are you doing?" Ace hissed. "Why are you cleaning up for this… this…" He seemed to be lacking the words to describe Gene. "Are you his maid now?" 

"It's not like I can do much else," Eric thought. "And he seems to be thankful about it." 

After just an hour of fast work the place was in a pretty acceptable state but still Eric could barely concentrate. Mixing drinks really didn't seem to be his thing. So he took up the bass and started playing on it for a while.

"Hey, you're really good," Ace said. "Was that your role in the band or are you just a natural talent with instruments?"

Even Gene stopped his work and stared out of the window lost in thought while listening.

"It's getting pretty late already," Eric said after a look at the clock. "I think I should go home now." 

Gene accompanied him to the door. For a moment it looked as if he still wanted to say something but then he just saw Eric off with a simple "Good night". 

Early in the morning Eric was awoken by the message tone of his phone. There was another longer text from Gene. 

"I forgot to tell you, on Wednesdays I'm always at the university labs. Have you ever been in that area? It's near where you live so it should be easy to find. If you get lost, just call me." 

"Shall we really go there?" Ace grumbled sleepily. "All we will probably do is sit around while he ignores you again." 

But Eric had to find out more about what kind of relationship they had before. Somehow he had the feeling it was an important part of his lost memories.

An hour later he was already standing at the campus gates. But which way to go now? What lab was Gene in? Was this an information he should have known before? He could ask some of the people here for directions. Or maybe… He took out his phone and gave Gene a call to tell him that he was lost. 

"Seriously, there's a lot of people around that you could have asked," Gene said when he arrived at the gates a few minutes later. "You just don't think ahead, do you?" His tone of voice got softer. "But the fact that you relied on me rather than a random stranger is… I mean… This might have been the first time you ever called me…" For a moment he avoided Eric's gaze. And was he blushing a little? Before Eric could be sure he had already turned around again.

At least the lab was clean. At first it seemed as if Gene wanted to do the same as the day before - dump Eric somewhere and then get back to whatever he was researching. But then Eric stopped him.

"Can't we talk about something for a change?" 

"Talk? What should we talk about? All we ever did since we are dating was argue. Ah… Or are you talking about a conversation? Sometimes I have talks with other people, mostly our band mates, that can't be called discussions. We two used to have them too before… I mean at the times when you still might have considered me a friend… 

"Our band mates?" Ace asked. "So you're part of the same band as him? And you used to be friends before what? Before you were dating? Or did something else happen that made you stop being his friend and then you started dating him for some reason? Gah! Why do you two have to be so complicated?"

"It's not easy coming up with a random conversation topic out of the blue," Gene said. He thought about it for a little while. "You know, I've been thinking a lot about mutations. Not just because it's part of the presentation I have to prepare or because I sometimes secretly read the X-Men while I'm supposed to work but because I could be a mutant, you could be one. It could happen to anyone, at any time. Cancer is a mutation of the cell, specifically the DNA inside the cell…"

Before they knew it it was evening again. It might not really have turned out to be what Eric had in mind when he asked for a conversation but in the end he had actually helped Gene with his presentation. All the while his personal spirit had been dozing off in a corner, only waking up now when he realised that Eric was ready to leave. 

Before he did though, Gene stopped him.  
"Why haven't you become angry or complained for the past three days now. Could it be… Am I just making foolish assumptions that you are getting tired of arguing too? The first stage of dating is being together as much as possible but how do I know when this first stage is complete? I don't know what changes should occur but your attitude towards me definitely is different. If your feelings towards me have changed, even a little… I…"

Neither Eric nor Gene had noticed the guy who had sneaked into the room. But suddenly he was standing behind Gene.

"Don't move. You move, you die," he quietly told Gene. 

For a moment Gene's eyes widened in surprise but then he let out his breath.

"Paul… It seems my senses have dulled. I didn't notice you."

"Victory is mine. Now you can't escape anymore. Any last words for your family?" 

"Tell them I fought bravely." 

With wide eyes Eric looked from one to the other. 

"But in all seriousness," Paul said and put his hands on his hips. "When will you stop avoiding us and finally show up to any rehearsal or recording sessions again or do literally anything concerning the band. And no, I am not talking about playing the same few songs at the same few clubs every now and then because our bassist is hardly ever present to practise new songs with us. What happened to this dream we once had?"

"Look, Paul, having a dream was nice for a little while. But it is only a dream. We barely receive any income from it and there haven't been any positive replies from any record labels yet. At least I have a regularly paid job. And I am still striving for more." 

"You are some university substitute teacher who does research of whatever he feels like at the moment in his spare time. Is that really what you want? Always staying a substitute teacher? We could have more success if we only worked for it. But how are we supposed to do that when we're almost always one member short?" He let out a deep sigh. "Look, I'm tired of always needing this discussion with you before you finally show up again once. At least think about it." He turned around as if he already wanted to leave and only now seemed to notice Eric for the first time. "Oh, hi. I hope at least you will still show up."

"I… Uhm…" Eric said. 

"Good, I'll tell Bruce to pick you up. Wait a moment, why are you hanging out with Gene again? Wait, don't tell me you are still pulling this whole dating thing through?" 

"Yes, we are dating," Gene answered. While before he had still sounded as if he barely cared he now seemed slightly annoyed.

"You? The one who considers it a long-term relationship when the one night stand is allowed to stay for breakfast?" Paul let out a laugh. "Or maybe there's more to it after all. Because why else would someone stick around you for more than a few hours if they know that you expect more of them than… whatever you might consider friendship. Unless they, amazingly, really do have a crush on you."  
He walked closer to Eric and put his hands onto his shoulders. 

"What are you doing?" Gene muttered, now even more annoyed. 

"This could be my once in a lifetime chance to make you jealous. I'm not going to miss it. See it as your punishment." He addressed Eric again, "Now look deeply into my eyes."

Gene groaned and rolled his eyes. "Oh not this again. Stop making a fool of yourself." 

"It's not foolish. The eye has power. I thought I have proven it often enough already that no one can withstand my charm."

"You're too close," Eric mumbled and tried to shift away. 

"Except for this one apparently," Paul said. "Wow, the little guy really must have fallen hard for you if the eye doesn't work on him."

Gene dragged him back. "He's with the band for how many months now? And your eye has never worked on him. So this means nothing. In fact I'm almost certain he hates me."

"Huh? What suddenly brought this on again?" Ace asked. "Eric? Are you even listening?" 

Eric had his eyes squeezed shut, his hand pressed against his face. The world around him was spinning. From far away he heard Gene's voice - not the Gene in front of him but a voice that seemed to be coming from the past.

"I can fully understand your dislike for me. Well, dislike might not describe it well enough. I could even say you hate me."

"Eric? What happened?! Are you alright?!" 

Slowly Eric recovered his senses. Gene - the one of the presence - was standing in front of him, holding his shoulders, looking concerned.

"Yeah, what happened? My head is spinning," Ace mumbled.

"I'm alright, I think. Just dizzy."

"Then please, sit down. I apologise for bringing up bad memories. Do you want to go home? I am calling you a cab. There is no way I will let you walk home."

"Bad memories…" Paul mused a while later when Eric had recovered somewhat again and was getting ready to leave. "I feel like there's a story behind it. Gene, why don't you fill me in over a couple of drinks. I think we have some more to talk about anyways."

"There is no story behind it. It can be explained within a minute," Gene replied evasively. "And you know I don't drink." 

"Then I'll get you some apple juice for your sippy cup, whatever. But you're not getting off the hook so easily." 

Eric would have loved to stay and find out more but his taxi was already waiting for him, Gene had insisted that he went home and in his condition drinking alcohol might not have been a great idea anyways.

"Pity that we couldn't listen in more but getting a piece of your memory back was already a huge step forward," Ace said when they were back in the safety of Eric's home. "The shock of it suddenly rushing back was what made you feel dizzy. I wonder what this was all about though. Sure, Gene is a weirdo and you might have argued a lot. But I can't imagine why you would have outright hated him."

Or why would Eric even have decided to date him if he hated him that much?

"And then Paul and Gene… They sure seem to have a strange relationship. On one hand it seems strained but on the other hand they also seem to be friends - kind of. Maybe that's just how all of Gene's relationships are - strange."

All they could go by for now were just speculations. They had to find out more the next day. With a sinking feeling Eric realised that next evening he had to appear to a job at the club. And he still barely knew how to bartend.

When Eric arrived at the back entrance of the club someone else was there as well - another short man with long blonde hair.

"This guy has the face of a chinchilla," Ace remarked. "And he looks like a sweetheart. Maybe he's one of your coworkers." 

"Oh… Hi…" the blonde guy said curtly.

Was it just Eric's imagination or had the temperature between them dropped a couple of degrees? The other one really seemed to be working there as well though because he quickly disappeared through the door and Eric had no other choice than to follow him.

"Oh hi, Brucie," the blonde guy happily greeted the tall man who was already in the dressing room. "My holidays were just awesome. I'm sorry I couldn't come to your show though." It was like someone had flipped a switch. Suddenly he couldn't have been any more chipper.

So this one was Bruce. Eric remembered having seen him before. Was he also the one who Paul mentioned?

"Hi, Kitty-Eric. Hi, Eric," Bruce greeted them with a smile. 

"Eric and Eric? Well, that's just funny," Ace remarked with a grin. "I wonder what problem he has with you though." 

"You alright again?" Bruce quietly asked Eric. "You didn't seem too well some days ago."

"Oh… Uh, yeah, I think so." What else could he say?

"If you need someone to talk to again, I'm always there."

Bruce patted his arm then he walked out of the dressing room. Kitty-Eric just shot him a glare then followed Bruce. So he apparently had a friend here and a sort-of enemy. What a start…

And it didn't continue much better.

"Why are you putting lime juice into that drink, Eric? Were my notes really that mistakable? Stop spacing out in the corner, Bruce. I know you look decorative but our guests want your service too. I wished I had asked Tommy to come in as well."

Peter behind the bar and Kitty-Eric rushing around between the tables really took the brunt of the work. 

"You're making rookie mistakes. How dumb can you be?" Kitty asked with a gloating grin when he passed Eric once. "You can be glad Peter's your friend or else you'd already been chewed out." He didn't say anything to Bruce though.

"You don't seem to be doing well either," Eric told Bruce when he saw him sitting in the break room later that night. "Is there anything you want to talk about?" 

Bruce gave him a slight smile. "Well… Maybe not so different from your problems. Minus having trouble with Gene - at least not of that nature. Worried about the band's future. Still slightly worried about you. It will pass. Like it usually does. Nothing to talk about at work. If it still troubles me later we can talk when I pick you up tomorrow." He stood up, ruffled through Eric's hair and left the room again. 

During the second half of his shift Eric slowly seemed to get the hang of it. At least Peter had to interfere less often and Kitty kept his mouth shut. Bruce also seemed to have snapped out of his spacey state. Still, by the end of the day he felt completely drained.

Bruce had already left and Kitty was still happily chatting away with Peter somewhere else so Eric was alone in the dressing room. He tried to get done as fast as possible but before he was ready to leave Kitty walked in. 

"Oh… You're still here…" That frosty tone again. While quickly getting dressed and without looking at Eric he continued, "A few days ago I heard in passing from Peter that you're together with one of your bandmates. Congratulations I guess. And here I already thought I would have had good chances, that I'm the only one here who's into tall, dark and awkward. Why is he all of a sudden asking people out anyways. I don't get it. Or did you ask him first?" He suddenly spun around glaring at Eric. "But I'm not giving up that easily. I'm cuter, more sociable, I won't have a hard time winning him over. Don't think you have won yet." And with that he packed up his things and stormed out. 

"Wow…" Ace muttered. "Is named Kitty, has the face of a cute little chinchilla, the energy of a hyperactive squirrel but the personality of a viper… Congrats for knowing a zoo. I never thought someone else would be able to like Gene as well. I hope that won't mean a lot of trouble along the way. Gene doesn't seem to be the type who just jumps from one relationship to the next. But if Paul can be believed he has a reputation for quickly changing sexual partners…"

Why did Eric suddenly feel a knot in his stomach? It wasn't like he knew or cared much for Gene anyways, or Kitty for that matter. If he really wanted him he should have him. But if that was really true then why did the thought alone of Gene with someone else make him feel upset? Was he seriously falling for a weird stranger he had known for not even a week? Or was this his past self speaking?

During his walk home Eric noticed that Ace repeatedly turned around as if looking for something.

"Is something the matter?" 

"I don't know, I just had the feeling someone was watching us." He shook his head. "Probably nothing. Whoever was watching seems to be gone now."

Eric had not been home long yet when he received a message - from Gene again. It was around 2 am and he still wrote messages. Wasn't he able to sleep? Or had he waited for Eric's shift to be over just so they could message each other? 

"You have the day off on Sunday. Let's meet."

"Still this unemotional tone," Ace grumbled. "He could have at least written something like 'I want to see you'." 

"But at least he's asking for a date. Or at least I think he does," Eric said. 

"I'm looking forward to it," he texted back.

Several minutes passed before he received a reply at last. 

"I dropped my phone in surprise and then when I looked for it I stumbled over it. Thankfully it's not broken. Are you quite alright though? But I think I'm looking forward to it too. I'll pick you up." 

What a reaction… And that just because he had decided on a chipper reply. 

"What about tomorrow though? Will you meet up with the rest of the band?" Eric asked. 

Another long waiting time. 

"I'll think about it."

Well, at least it was better than nothing. 

"You look better today," he told Bruce as he climbed into his car. Still pretty lost in thoughts but at least he seemed to feel better than yesterday.

"Yeah, I thought about it. I'll just let it come as it may. It would be a pity but we have our secure jobs at the club and there'll be other opportunities. Someone might talk to us again during another open mic night. Or they'll reply to an application. We just have to keep trying. You look even more worried though."

Should he tell Bruce about it? Well, why not.  
"Seems like I have a rival now. Kitty told me yesterday. He also has a crush on Gene. And he won't give up on him."

"Kitty-Eric, huh?" Bruce seemed to muse on it for a while. "Never thought he'd be into Gene too. But I don't think there'll be much of a problem. If it's longer than a night Gene simply wouldn't be interested. You already are the great exception. Kitty will just give up on him sooner or later. He's always gotten over these things pretty quickly."

For the rest of the drive they remained silent. It wasn't an awkward one though, more like they were just quietly enjoying each other's company.

"Why can't he be your boyfriend instead?" Ace asked from the backseat.

Paul angrily stomped through the studio room.  
"And who doesn't show up again? Of course!"

Eric and Bruce just exchanged silent glances.

"Oh yeah, of course we can still do new recordings. You can play bass, you can play bass, fucking everyone can play bass, it's not hard. Only our actual bass player will then botch it when we have to play live because he never gave a fuck." He leaned against a wall, took a few deep breaths. "Oh screw it. Let's just get started. I only rented this room for three hours." 

So drums were actually the instrument he was playing. Sitting behind them, holding those sticks, it felt so natural. Missing memories or not, this was something he could do by heart.

They were just about to begin when the door opened.

"I know I am late, you don't need to hold me any lectures," Gene said. He pushed some sheets of paper into Paul's arms who still stood completely stunned. "Can these be used as well? I wrote them during this night so they still need to be refined. Can we get started? I only have a few hours. Eric, I'm sorry I can't accompany you home today, but I'm sure Bruce had planned to drive you home anyways."

Paul looked from Gene to Eric.  
"What did you do?" he mouthed.

Eric could only shrug. 

A few more days passed during which he made no more progress in regaining his memories. On Sunday afternoon Gene picked Eric up for their date.

"Let's go for a walk," he said and immediately rushed off, giving Eric yet another hard time keeping up with him. At least they were running a different route which was a nice change of scenery. 

"Oh for crying out loud, why does he always have to turn this into a race?" Ace called out in frustration. "Eric, say something! You can barely breathe anymore."

Eric finally stopped to catch his breath. Gene did too, turned around and looked at him in mild surprise.

"Is something the matter?" 

"Yeah, why can't we just have a nice slow stroll or sit down somewhere and talk about something for a change?" 

"So you still want to have a conversation? Then maybe you should come up with a topic. I don't really know what people talk about during casual conversations."

Well, what could he come up with? It wasn't like he remembered anything about the past that he could talk about.

"One of my colleagues told me that we are love rivals now." 

"Oh? Now this is an interesting topic you've brought up. Are you saying you want to introduce me to this other guy? Do you care so little about dating me that you don't even want to confront your colleague? Are you trying to hint that you want to break up?"

Wait, what…? 

"I'm often told that I'm insensitive but you're actually the same, Eric. Do you think I enjoy a topic like that? My opinion hasn't changed from before. I still believe that quickly changing sexual partners are the most efficient. However that doesn't mean one should have multiple romantic relationships at the same time. Of course if we become tired of one another it's most efficient to immediately break up and move on but I think it's still far too early to consider that. In other words, even if there is someone else interested in me it currently has absolutely no meaning to me."

"Wait, so you're saying you'll break up with me if you get tired of me?" 

"Yes, we've argued over this before but my beliefs haven't changed. Have you forgotten?" 

"No wonder you always got mad at this guy when he says things like that," Ace muttered. "Wait… Something's happening. I… Or rather, you don't feel so well."

Eric's vision became blurry. He remembered standing before Gene, feeling upset about something. 

"So your heart was broken by a person you admired and you came to me for what reason? I am neither a psychology teacher nor a counsellor," Gene said. 

"I didn't come for advice. I just… I just wanted to talk to someone," Eric replied. 

"So you're rather seeing your failure as an interesting anecdote? In that case I'll state my opinion. I think it's most efficient to quickly change from one sexual partner to the next. It will fulfill your needs and there is no emotional baggage that you have to deal with. The only reason I see for staying together for a longer time is when you wish to raise an offspring together. But even that can be efficiently done alone. In a way you can see your failed love as beneficial and you should continue to do so."

This damn idiot. How could he say something like that? It was a reflex and a second later he already regretted it, but at that moment Eric felt so angry, so hurt, he slapped Gene in the face. 

Gene held his burning cheek. He seemed more surprised than hurt.  
"And why do you think I deserve a slap from you?"

Eric's vision slowly cleared but he still felt very dizzy. And Gene was there in front of him again, holding him upright, looking worried. 

"What happened? Are you feeling unwell again? Maybe I should just bring you home." 

"So you had a date, even though it wasn't a pleasant one," Ace said while Eric was resting on his bed. "Personally I would have told you to ditch that guy but somehow your memories seem to be connected to him."

And both memories that had returned so far were of fights with him… But if he really didn't get along with Gene then why would he have had a talk about failed relationships with him in the first place? He couldn't deny it, Gene had played an important role in his life.

Like clockwork Eric received another message from him the next morning. 

"Let's go for a walk again. We can talk."

When Gene picked him up he for a change walked slow enough for Eric to actually keep pace with him.

"What do you think when we're walking like this? Why do you simply quietly follow?" Gene asked.

"I wonder what you are thinking."

For a moment they kept walking quietly, then Gene replied, "There are a lot of couples on this route. Why are they all holding hands while walking? Is it a ritual to confirm their affection? One step in increasing levels of physical contact? I don't think you feel any affection towards me and it's too early to increase our level of physical contact. But still…" He turned his face away but Eric had already noticed his blush. "I really would like to hold your hand. There is no logical reason behind it. But I like you… And I just… I want to feel your touch… When I walk next to you I can't help but notice your hands. And that makes me walk faster so I wouldn't feel tempted. I was probably walking a little too fast for you. If so I apologise."

"Maybe we should hold hands," Eric said and reached out. He noticed how Gene tensed up. His palm was cold and sweaty. But he then closed his fingers around Eric's.

"Last night I swallowed my pride and asked Paul for advice. When he finally stopped laughing he said, 'Tell Eric what you told me just now'. It seems he was correct. I also asked him about what you told me yesterday - about your coworker having feelings for me. I really couldn't think of any reason why you would have told me this other than that you wanted to break up with me and I couldn't come up with a proper response. Paul thinks you might just feel insecure and told me to tell you this: 'It doesn't matter who might have feelings for me. I love you and those feelings won't change'. I hope you understand what I mean."

Eric couldn't help but smile. "Yes… Can you say that again?" 

"Oh give me a break…"

On their way back Gene made a short stop at his place to retrieve something. 

"Paul also told me that the best action to take after a fight is to give a gift," he said when he returned. "I did my own research and found out that couples often give each other self-made gifts. I have no talent for crafting an item with my own hands. I could have written a song for you but what is a song good for if you can't hear it? I would have needed the help of the rest of the band, including you, and then it wouldn't have been a surprise anymore and my own personal touch would have gotten lost. So I wanted to give you this instead."

He pulled something forth from behind his back.

"Isn't that the yoghurt grass?" Ace asked. "Sorry, I've withdrawn for a while to give you two as much alone time as I can. But now I just can't sit by without saying anything. Who thinks a weird science experiment is a good gift?" 

"I have at least raised it with my own hands," Gene said. "It might not have started to show any mutations but it's growing healthy. It likes low fat best." 

"Thank you, I really like it," Eric said. 

"You have to be kidding me," Ace groaned. 

The next day they met again, at Gene's place this time.

"I tried to tidy up a little. Make yourself at home," Gene greeted him. "After yesterday I started thinking that we should talk more to improve our relationship. So is there something you'd like to talk about?" 

"You actually look like you are quite busy," Eric said and nodded at his work desk. "Lectures for the university or your own private research works? And you seem rushed. Do you even have the time for a conversation - or for my visit in general? Did you only call me over because you think it's an obligation."

Gene avoided his gaze.  
"Well… I actually am falling behind with my work. I can't stop thinking about you and can barely concentrate. But the truth is… I just wanted you to be here. For some reason I feel happy just knowing you're here." He turned around with a sigh. "At any rate, I have to get back to work again. But if you need anything just tell me. I might be busy but that doesn't mean I don't want to talk with you."

Throughout the entire day Eric busied himself with something else. He barely even noticed how fast time passed until it was already dark outside.  
He and Gene said their goodbyes to each other then Eric left.

"It's kinda odd," Ace said breathing in the cool night air. "You both spent your time doing different things but still it felt as if you were actually a couple. And time flew by so fast as if you were actually doing something together." He halted. "...There's this presence again… The same as a few days ago. Someone is coming towards you."

Eric turned his head. Indeed, a tall stranger was walking up to him.

"Probably just someone taking a nightly stroll," he thought but still he felt very anxious.

"Oh, Eric. I never thought I'd see you alone at night once more. And it seems like you have been with Gene."

Eric nodded timidly. "Uh, yeah… I'm sorry, is there something I can help you with?" 

"Oh, there sure is. The name's Mark. I think you could call me your first fan. Could I have your autograph?" 

"A fan?" Ace asked unbelieving. "How does he know you? Paul said you didn't even have a record yet? And why does he know where Gene lives?" 

"Probably an acquaintance who knows us from the club," Eric thought, trying to assure Ace - and also himself - while writing down his name. However he couldn't shake the uneasiness.

"Thank you, in the future this will be worth a fortune," Mark said, giving him a wide grin. 

Eric chuckled awkwardly. "You sure? We are still fairly unknown." 

"Oh, I know you'll make it big." The smile now got something almost sinister. "The signatures of founding members are always worth more. Especially after their death. You really shouldn't be out alone, Eric." 

Eric took a few steps back, fear gripping his heart. He never had been so aware how empty the streets actually were at night.

But Mark didn't follow him. Instead he turned around again and continued his walk.  
"Let this be your warning," Eric still heard him say. "Whatever you do, don't be out alone at night anymore."

"Whatever this was, it felt like we just met evil incarnate," Ace whispered. "Please, let's just get home as fast as we can." 

He didn't have to say that twice.

"No, I can't say I have ever heard of anyone named Mark," Gene said. He was leaning against his desk at the university labs, his arms crossed in front of his chest, staring thoughtfully at the ground while listening to Eric's story. "Could he have been stalking you? He definitely sounds like some mentally unstable individual. But what would he gain from killing you? Or is it just for the sake of pleasure?"  
He looked up. "You're really pale."  
He pushed himself off his desk, walked over to Eric and took his hands. "From now on I'll accompany you when you have to walk home at night. I won't let anyone harm you."  
Suddenly he spun around. "I know there's someone at the door," he called out. 

"Your senses are becoming better I see," Paul's voice was heard. Their fellow band member entered the room. "But jokes aside, I only heard a little and it was already worrying enough. So what exactly has happened?" 

"That is actually very concerning," Paul said once they had filled him in. "It's not like we could do much else though because so far he had only been a weirdo making empty threats." He gently brushed through Eric's hair. "But don't you worry, little guy, we will watch out for you." 

Gene's eyes narrowed. "And what exactly do you think you're doing here? Stop touching his hair." 

"Needlessly jealous, aren't we? I'm just trying to comfort him. Bruce is doing that all the time." 

"Bruce isn't you." 

Paul shrugged. "Alright, alright, I let you get back to your alone time."

Gene watched him leave and as soon as Paul was gone he walked over to Eric, placed his hand on Eric's head and roughly, almost angrily ruffled through his hair.

"I'm not so narrow minded that I already become jealous just because another man touched your hair. This is a normal level of contact for family members and friends so there is no need to get jealous about it and no need to hold back either, right? You didn't say anything when Paul was doing this so you don't dislike it when I do it either, right?"

"I don't dislike it but you're hurting me," Eric whimpered. "Please, calm down." 

Gene immediately stopped. His hand was still on Eric's head but at least he wasn't ruffling up his hair any longer. 

"I'm sorry… I know that man is quick to make advances. But he's my friend. He just tried to make me jealous but wouldn't actually try to steal someone I'm dating, right? Am I just being paranoid?" He took a step back and turned his gaze away. "What a pathetic display… I think I need to be alone today… I will accompany you home." 

"He's jealous! Oh my goodness, ain't he cute," Ace teased with a chuckle. "But yeah, maybe it's best you leave early today. Wouldn't want to run into that creep again. Besides you have to be prepared for another workday tomorrow. And for meeting that squirrely viper again..."

His three coworkers were standing together, talking, when Eric arrived. While Peter and Bruce greeted him, Kitty-Eric barely even acknowledged his presence.

"I'm sorry but I'm busy tomorrow pretty much all day long," Bruce apologised to the other two. "But you could all go without me, I don't mind."

"No, you can't be the only one left out. Even Tommy will be coming," Peter said. "We just go some days later." He waved Eric over, not noticing the glare that Kitty was giving Eric behind his back. "Hey, Kitty suggested that we all should go to the beach some time. When are you free? Not tomorrow either I assume." 

Eric shrugged. "Whenever Bruce is free I assume. We have the same schedules after all and aside of that I don't have that much more to do."

"I'll text you when I know," Bruce suggested. 

A few moments later the others had left and Eric was alone with Kitty in the dressing room.

"So I assume you'll be at the festival with your boyfriend tomorrow night," Kitty murmured. 

Ace looked at Eric. "Wait, what festival? You were supposed to be at a festival with Gene tomorrow?"

"I unfortunately have to work until the middle of the night. Only Bruce is allowed to leave early and your lazy ass of course has the day off," Kitty continued. "So what did I do in my frustration? I wanted us all to have fun during the day. But even then I got rejected. Well, I guess have fun then. I will get my chance another time." 

"Oh stop being overdramatic", Ace muttered. "Just because four people - or five with that Tommy guy - aren't free at the same time doesn't mean they rejected you." 

Eric's work day was almost over when Bruce came to him with a small grin.  
"Just a little heads up. There's someone here for you. I just saw him come in." 

Only moments later and much to Eric's surprise Gene took a free seat at the bar.  
"Unless we're having a show here that's usually not my kind of establishment," he said with an awkward smile. "But I just wanted to see you at your work before accompanying you home I guess. Paul said to me, 'Tell him his uniform looks nice or something.' But you always look nice to me and your uniforms are made to fit you so I don't understand why I'm expected to state the obvious. But yeah, your uniform looks nice. Everything about you looks nice." His expression became more serious. "I'm sorry about yesterday. Paul just was his usual self and I became jealous and was rude to you for no reason. But I got you a chocolate cake to make up for it. I think I remember that you like chocolate. And I sure like cake. We can have it once you get off work."

Eric gave him a huge smile. "If I wasn't on the clock right now and you weren't a customer I would have kissed you." He had spoken without thinking and was a bit surprised about himself now. But it really was what he felt like.

"I… I think I won't keep you any longer from work," Gene said and walked away from the bar, trying to hide his face. 

"Isn't he cute sometimes?" Eric thought, giving Ace a chuckle.

Eric walked nervously through his apartment. According to an entry he had found in his calendar Gene was supposed to pick him up at 11 pm. Now it was already nearing midnight. Had something else come up? Had they actually cancelled their date before Eric had lost his memories? Would it be suspicious to give him a call?  
He dialed Gene's number anyways.

"Wait, the festival was today?" Gene asked. "I'm not interested in these things so it completely slipped my mind. I'm sorry, I'm not sure if we will still be on time. Even if we take the car we will very likely miss the fireworks. Maybe I can make up for it with something else?" 

"But… I was really looking forward to going with you…" Eric said, sounding disappointed. 

For a good while it was silent.

"I'll pick you up in ten minutes. Don't go anywhere outside without me." He hung up. 

"He sounded really eager," Ace said. "I think I'll stay invisible for a while. Wouldn't want to get in the way of your date." 

They had a pretty silent ride. Gene looked too nervous and tense to talk most of the time. It looked like some people were already leaving the festival. The fireworks were apparently over. The stalls were still open though so they could at least stick around for a while, get some food or drinks, try some of the shooting galleries or listen to some live music. 

"It's starting to rain a bit," Gene noted. "I have an umbrella with me. You should hold onto me." He paused for a moment. "It's just so the umbrella can cover us both and because you else could get easily lost in the crowd. It's just more efficient and for safety reasons."

"I wouldn't mind if you held me even closer." 

At first Gene hesitated but then he put his arm around Eric's shoulders.

"I haven't been on these kinds of festivals in a really long time anymore. Maybe I'm still good at the shooting booths? I could win a plushie." He looked down at Eric. "I am sorry I forgot that we had planned to go to the festival together. We had made that plan when we had just started dating, but then you never showed interest in doing any activities at all with me and I simply forgot over time. I still have no explanation why your attitude towards me changed, maybe you're simply trying to accommodate me with this relationship thing, but I actually enjoy the times we can spend together."

Resting his head against Gene's shoulder Eric nodded. "Me too."  
He knew exactly though why his attitude might have changed.

A while later they were driving back home. A big fox plushie was resting in Eric's lap. For the most part they were silent again.

"I couldn't help but notice that you kept staring at me all this time," Gene said when he parked the car. "I think I've read something about these frequent looks of partners in a relationship. Do you really want to initiate something or am I just making embarrassing but false assumptions?" 

Eric felt his heart beat faster. "I don't think you're wrong," he quietly said. 

"So you wouldn't mind if I kissed you?" 

Eric shook his head. He just couldn't stop staring into those dark brown eyes anymore.

Gene leaned over. Probably a little too fast. They bumped their foreheads together. Both slightly withdrew with an awkward chuckle. 

"Damn, I have kissed so many people in my life. Why am I suddenly behaving like an inexperienced teen?" Gene mumbled. 

Maybe because for the first time in his life it actually meant something to him. 

They drew closer again, more careful this time and started to kiss. 

The next evening Bruce greeted him with a knowing smile.  
"You look like you're on cloud nine today."

"Sure am." But before Eric could start telling about it Kitty walked in, giving them both a mischievous grin. 

"Did you have a nice night yesterday? Hope the rain didn't ruin it. Or did you end up in a fight because he was late? I kept him in the club until the very last minute after all."

Eric blinked at him in confusion for a couple of seconds.  
"What… What are you talking about? Why would Gene be at the club yesterday?" 

Now it was Kitty's turn to be confused.  
"Gene??" He looked back and forth between Bruce and Eric. "But I thought… Bruce, why did you leave so early yesterday? Weren't you at the festival?"

"No, I first re-recorded some parts with Paul yesterday and since I knew I would barely be able to get any sleep during the day and that because of that I might lack concentration at work I had asked Peter if I could leave early." 

"So you aren't…? This was all just a misunderstanding? Oh shit, this is so embarrassing!" Kitty covered his face with his hands and stormed off. 

Bruce gave Eric a surprised look. "What the hell was this all about?" 

Eric gave him a sheepish grin.  
"Maybe I can tell you later. Or maybe it should be rather up to him if he wants to explain to you." 

After work while Eric waited for Gene to pick him up he was approached by two people - one was Peter who looked very amused, the other was Kitty-Eric who looked like he wished the ground would swallow him.

"Oh my dear goodness, I just heard from Kitty about the misunderstanding. Some bad chick flick couldn't have been more hilarious. And I never would have guessed he's into Bruce." 

"Shut it!" Kitty hissed. "Bruce is still around somewhere. This is partially your fault too. You should have told me which band member." He turned towards Eric, nervously playing with the sleeves of his shirt. "Uhm… I'm really sorry for what I said and tried to do… You're my friend and I was so mad at you for stabbing my back like that. But… that still doesn't make what I tried to do any less terrible. And as it turned out you didn't stab my back after all. What if I had done something that actually could have affected your relationship? I'm so sorry. Could you ever forgive me?"

"Of course," Eric said. "After all you haven't actually done anything to harm me." 

Peter put his arms around both of their shoulders. "See? I told you he won't carry a grudge. So how about this - let's continue hanging out at this bar for a while longer and celebrate the renewed friendship. We haven't hung out like this in quite some time anymore anyways."

"We can just stick around like this?" Eric asked.

"Why not? This is still my place so I can do with it after hours whatever I please. I could get us some frozen pizzas from upstairs and you can tell me all the juicy details." 

"I'm not sure I can stay," Eric said. "After all, Gene is coming just to pick me up." 

At that time Gene finally arrived, apologising for the wait. He actually was fine with Eric staying at the bar for some time longer as long as Peter or Kitty accompanied him home afterwards. He himself wasn't too willing to stick around during their little celebration. 

Meanwhile Bruce also had come out of the backrooms to say his goodbyes.

While Peter and Kitty-Eric left to get food and some drinks Bruce still had a quick chat with Gene.

"Hey, Gene, I wanted to ask you if you think you can make it to rehearsals during the next few days. If you do we can finally play some new songs during our upcoming show."

"Yeah… maybe… probably. I at least don't think I have any more pressing matters to attend to."

"Show?" Eric asked. It had just slipped out before he could think about it.

Bruce gave him a surprised look. "Yeah, the one next weekend. Don't tell me you also forgot about that."

"Oh," Eric chuckled. "Sorry, too much going on right now, it only slipped my mind for a second." 

But while Bruce simply let it slide, Gene gave him a long pensive look before he left.

"Do you think he starts to realise something?" Ace asked. "You know, there's something I already thought about a few times by now. Maybe it might be okay to tell Gene the truth about your amnesia. Yeah, he's such a logical person and the most logical course of action would be to get you to a hospital. But on the other hand he has shown that he really loves you so he would listen to you and respect your decision to not visit a hospital, even if he won't understand your reason. It is quite a gamble but… you haven't had any more returning memory fragments in days and I don't think we can do this alone."

Eric honestly didn't know. He also didn't have much time to ponder about it because that moment Peter and Kitty-Eric returned and cleared a table.

"In celebration of Kitty's broken heart just being a misunderstanding, let's have a toast," Peter said. 

"I guess that's a good thing," Kitty said. "But I haven't had the nerves to ask Bruce out yet either. Who knows what still might happen." 

"There, there, you can't know for sure yet if you will be rejected," Peter said. "And you're still better off than me. I can't even find someone to reject me." 

"Peter, I think you're setting your sights just way too high."

"I HAVE to set my sights high. Like 80% of people are taller than me," Peter laughed.

"If you already think you're short then what am I? Crotch height?" 

"Hm, well… Guessing by how low your sights are sometimes set…" 

"Hey, don't be so rude. Besides, Bruce is a high aim for a change and he means definitely more to me than just that."

"For your sake I can just hope that Bruce is more than just… that," Eric joined the conversation. "Because I swear, if you go and break his heart…" 

"No way! He's not a playboy like the others so if he actually wants me I'll stick with him forever!"

"Eric, why did you even assume that Kitty wanted to steal Gene from you to begin with?" Peter asked. "I mean, Gene is neither a high nor a low aim, he is simply an impossible aim. He sleeps with you if you look hot enough but then he stops being interested. If I had been that chosen one who so far only legends spoke of… Well, if I had been with him I would have just asked, 'You seriously expect a working relationship from Gene?' And then the other one would have realised their mix-up."

"Well…," Kitty said. "Maybe because I already tried to ask Gene out once?" 

"Wow… You've got guts. Or are simply insane." 

"Well, Paul and I had just broken up so I decided to heal my broken heart with the next best attractive face. I didn't even know what he was like. Eric should still remember - I told him about it."

Yeah, there was a weak memory. Gene had actually given Kitty a similar lecture about why he didn't believe in relationships. And for just a one night stand Kitty hadn't been desperate enough yet. 

"But I never would have expected Eric to have such guts to ask Gene," he heard Peter say. 

"I didn't. He asked me," Eric said and somehow he knew it was the truth.

"Damn, you really ARE the chosen one."

They still chatted for a while longer and at some point Eric must have dozed off resting his head against the table while the others pulled an all-nighter. Because when he woke up he was still at the club and it was already bright outside. Kitty was still blabbering about something and he sounded really overjoyed. 

"Sorry we didn't bring you home last night," Peter said to Eric. "But you slept so well, we didn't want to wake you."

"Guess what happened!" Kitty exclaimed. "Last night I randomly decided to text Bruce and tell him about my feelings. An hour later I actually had regretted it again. But he texted back this morning. He actually has feelings for me too! Holy shit, I still can barely believe it!" 

"He also said that he's free to go to the beach with us tomorrow," Peter said. "You can bring Gene too if he wants to. We also discussed inviting Paul. It might be weird to bring an ex but else he would be the only one left out."

Eric decided to text Gene immediately. He didn't have to wait too long for an answer.

"Well, I am not opposed to it."

"This text looks timid," Ace said with a smirk. "He probably thinks about seeing you in nothing but swimwear."

"Ah, swimwear!" Kitty suddenly called out as if he had heard Ace. "I could really need some new swim trunks. Or maybe something that shows off more. How about you two? Shall we get something together?"

"Eh, I'm good," Peter replied.

Eric actually didn't know so he agreed to come with him. 

"What the… No, I can't wear this! This is barely more than a string!" Eric objected. 

"Oh come on, don't you think Gene will love it?" Kitty said with a laugh. 

"I think Bruce would too so why don't YOU wear it?" 

"Good point… Maybe we should get the same." A mischievous look suddenly appeared on his face. "Hey, there are other people outside and they know we are two in this changing room - shall I start making loud moaning sounds?" 

"NO!" 

At least he had the rest of the day and then the entire night to rest from an exhausting shopping trip like that.

Gene looked a bit lost among the happily chatting crowd that met up the next day.

"I… think I know most of them," he said, sounding uncertain. "But I hardly ever talked to them." He nodded at a man who only seemed vaguely familiar to Eric. "I don't think I have made his acquaintance at all yet." 

Eric hesitated for a moment. Was this Tommy? He had to be. There was no one else invited.

But the other man had already walked over.  
"Hello, I'm Tommy, nice to meet you. I'm a part timer like Eric but most of the time we have different shifts. We did organise a few shows together though."

So he actually should have known Tommy too. Hopefully his hesitation hadn't been too obvious. 

Why had he let himself talk into this look… Kitty seemed to have no problems showing off but Eric just felt weird as he walked back to the others who were already at the water. He had the feeling everyone was staring at him.  
Including Gene. But only for a moment, then he rushed over to him, grabbed his hand and dragged Eric into the water.

"What are you doing?" Gene hissed. "Are you doing this on purpose? Is it really so much fun to tease me?" He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I am probably acting pathetic again. There is nothing wrong about showing off your body. It is a nice body after all. But when I see you like this I can only think how much I want you for myself. But at the same time it makes me feel scared, because how could someone like me keep you for myself. In the water I might not be able to see you that well but at least no one else can either. Although, I could understand if you rather wanted to go back and spend time with your friends than with me."

Putting his arms around Gene's waist Eric snuggled closer.  
"No, this is perfect. I rather want to stay with you like this."

Gene put his arms around Eric's shoulders.  
"You know, when we started going out I never expected we could have a relationship like this. I thought we would fight and then immediately break up. I had half given up. Why did you change so much? Do you still have no intentions of telling me?" 

"Did you prefer the past me?" Eric mumbled. 

"I prefer you now. No, that isn't quite correct. Both are you. You have simply become softer when you're around me. When I asked you out I only told you vaguely that I might like you. Back then I thought these feelings might have simply been a misunderstanding or maybe a mild curiosity. I couldn't find a logical reason why I would have had romantic feelings for you, or anyone for that matter. But I have to admit now, these can't be anything but romantic feelings. I want to be near you, have you all to myself. As childish as it was, I even provoked fights just so I could hear your voice, otherwise you might not have talked to me at all."

They stayed like this for a while longer until Eric started to shiver. 

"It's getting cold. I think we should move a little." 

Gene grinned but then just quickly shook his head.  
"Hey, let's have a race. If I win you promise me you'll only walk around outside wearing a towel."

Eric agreed. Actually he also would have done that if he lost.

Before long the sun was setting again. Eric felt a bit guilty for spending almost all of his time with Gene and none of his friends but at least they didn't seem to mind. 

"Haah, today was so much fun," Ace said happily. "Well, I couldn't do more than just watch the people around me but it still was fun." He paused. "Wait, what am I thinking?! I'm supposed to help you get your memories back but here I was sitting at the beach, grinning like an idiot. Tomorrow. Tomorrow's the day, I swear."

It wasn't. And also not the next few days. During that time Eric had rehearsals with the band during the day and work during the night, it was a miracle he even found some time to sleep. It unfortunately also meant he barely could spend some time alone with Gene.

And then the weekend was there. The day of his first show - at least the first time he remembered. It was just a small bar, with a small club room in the basement and most people were probably busy drinking anyways, it wasn't like they had to play in a stadium or anything - he tried to tell himself that over and over but it barely made him feel any less nervous.

"You look like a wreck," Kitty told him. "Cheer up! It will be as awesome as always!" 

"Good luck, you might need it," someone said behind him and gave him a quick pat on the back in passing.

Eric spun around. He only saw someone quickly disappearing into the crowd and couldn't be sure but still he felt a chill running down his spine. Of course, why would his stalker not be at one of his shows? Kitty noticed his unease and quickly figured out what might be wrong.

He ushered him to the stage area and whispered, "Don't worry, we'll be on the lookout. Just stick with your band and don't leave anything unattended."

During a break he was standing outside the club because he had felt like he could have needed some fresh air. The show had actually gone well so far even though he wasn't really sure how he managed to play so well - as nervous as he had been all this time. Gene was by his side, watching other people leave or enter the bar. Eric tensed up a little when from the corner of his eyes he noticed someone approaching but then he relaxed again. This man was short, nervous looking, a complete stranger and definitely not his tall and seemingly overconfident stalker.

"Eric! Finally I can see you again," the stranger said. He chuckled a little at Eric's look. "You seem confused. Perhaps you have no memory of me?"  
For a moment Eric felt nervous. Did this guy know something about his amnesia? But then the stranger continued, "After all at this time we might not have met each other anymore since primary school." He now addressed Gene. "And you are Gene. So you are Eric's boyfriend at this place. This is good, very good, he should be very safe. No one should be able to harm him this time. I am Vinnie, I don't think we have met each other. Although there was a time once when we knew each other too." He ignored Gene's confused look and turned his attention back to Eric. "So this time it seems I have managed to become a doctor or something. Isn't it weird? Would you have ever believed that, knowing me? Huh, maybe though, who knows what kind of person I was in this past of mine. I don't know what use this might have to me but, well, any knowledge could be useful." Vinnie sighed. "Well, I won't keep you any longer. Your break might almost be over and I need to be on the lookout for someone as well. Take good care. I hope you find happiness. And Gene, watch over him. Oh yeah, and maybe we should exchange notes about mutations some time."

They both watched him hurry back inside. Gene glanced at Eric. 

"Was he high or something?" 

He gave Vinnie's back a very thoughtful look.

Later that night they were on their way back home. Despite Eric's fears and how unconcentrated he often felt they had done good and their small audience had actually liked them. Gene still seemed to be deep in thoughts though. 

"Eric… Do you mind if I come in for a moment?" he asked when they arrived at Eric's home. "There is something I need to talk about." Somehow he sounded sad. 

"These past days I have been thinking a lot," Gene said as soon as they were sitting in Eric's living room. "About possible reasons why your attitude might have changed. I so badly wanted to believe you merely had a change of heart. But there were events… Like you forgot the date of our show despite always being so organised, you hesitated when I asked about Tommy as if you didn't know him although you had already worked with him. And then there was Vinnie. Yes, maybe it is true that you had last seen each other in elementary school and you simply had forgotten about him. But that man seemed high as a kite and still remembered you quite well so it is more likely that he actually had met you a couple of times since and only forgot in his current state. So taking everything I know into consideration I can only come up with one possible conclusion. Your memories are missing. I still can't say to what extent but chances are high you have at the very last forgotten all past interactions with me. Do you have any objections?"

Eric felt his heart beating fast. He was sick with worry but what reason was there now to keep hiding? 

"Gene, I'm sorry that I tried to hide it. I wanted to tell you but… I was scared I'd be locked away in a hospital." 

"That actually would have been the best course of action. It couldn't have been convenient trying to live through your everyday life not knowing anything. But I could understand why you would feel that way." Gene leaned forward with a deep sigh. "But so it is true. You have really forgotten. When your attitude changed from one day to the next I sure was confused but I also hoped that maybe you had decided to take it more seriously or you might even have started to like me as well. But my optimism was wrong. You had simply forgotten about me, about our fights, about the fact that you didn't like me. You simply met me, realised that we were dating and then started acting like my boyfriend. I knew something was wrong from the beginning. But I didn't want to believe it."

Suddenly Gene was next to Eric, hugging him tight, burying his face in Eric's hair.  
"I'm sure you will regain your memory. But will you also remember the relationship we had before and how much you disliked me? I'm sorry that I didn't try to help you earlier but I was scared. I'm scared of what might become of us, of losing you again."

Eric bit his lips. He felt a lump burning in his throat.

"I… I think it would be okay if I don't remember…" 

Gene moved away from him again but still holding Eric's shoulders and looked into his eyes.

"No, you have a right to know who you are. Anything else would just be selfish of me."

"We actually met at the club during an open mic night," he started. "Bruce and you were on stage that night and you were really good. Paul and I were still looking for members so afterwards we got to talk, invited you two into the band and it worked out, at least from a musical point of view. There was no special reason why our relationship was so rocky, my attitude angers people quite easily, so being disliked is normal. Unlike most people though you never gave up talking to me. We often argued but still you always came back and tried to get to know me better. You were really shocked when one day I asked you out. And I'm sure you don't remember now why you decided to accept. I wouldn't be able to explain it myself. I guess you could call it the heat of the moment because you looked like you accepted a challenge. So do you still not remember anything?"

Something flashed through Eric's mind.  
He remembered that day.  
He had stood in front of Gene, mouth opened in surprise.

"You… what?" 

"I said I might have romantic feelings for you," Gene repeated. "And the only logical reaction to these feelings is to ask you out."

"But you always made it very clear what you think of romance. Or do you just want to say that you want to spend a night with me? If so, forget it." 

"No, my opinions haven't changed. But you are… intriguing. I want to experience what it is like to be in a relationship. I might not know a lot about it but immediately sleeping with each other isn't usually the first step of a long-term relationship."

"So I'm more like an experiment? Why should I agree to something like that?" 

"If you don't want to that is fine. But it could be a good opportunity for you to teach me the meaning of romance and relationships that you so strongly believe in."

"But… I don't even like you…" 

"And I can fully understand your dislike for me. Well, dislike might not describe it well enough. I could even say you hate me. But despite that you still never gave up telling me about the meaning of love. So was that all a lie just for the sake of starting an argument?"

Eric snapped out of his trance again. He hadn't been able to argue against Gene's logic, had become irritated but then had actually accepted to teach him about love. But was that really the whole reason?

"Did you just remember something?" Gene asked. "I doubt it could have been anything pleasant."

If he had never lost his memories he probably would never have been sitting with Gene like that, just talking calmly.  
If he had never lost his memory he also would have never seen Gene making such a sad face in front of him…  
Why had he hated him before? Why was Gene so scared of losing him?  
He felt more flashes of memories but he didn't… he didn't want to remember… 

When he opened his eyes again he was leaning against Gene.

"What happened? You suddenly blacked out," Gene said, sounding really worried. He carefully laid Eric down on the sofa, then stood up. "I'll get you something to drink. If you need something else you can ask me for anything. But you seriously should consider if it wouldn't be the best to visit a hospital after all."

"I feel for you and Gene, I really do," Ace said quietly. "But you also can't NOT remember. If you don't try to get your memories back my consciousness will invade yours more and more. I just wished I could tell Gene why you have breakdowns and why you can't go to a hospital." He looked at the door that Gene had disappeared through. "He said to ask him for anything. Does that include asking him to believe in spirits?"

"What is it?" Gene asked as he returned and saw how Eric was looking at him. "Is there something you need?"

"Gene… would you believe me if I told you something?" 

For the next couple of minutes Gene just quietly listened as Eric explained. All this time he was staring at the ground as if deep in thoughts. Nothing about his facial expression showed what he might have thought of this story. 

"I told you I'd do anything and if you ask me to believe you I would be a liar if I didn't," he said once Eric had ended. "Let's say you're possessed by a spirit. No, this isn't hypothetical. You are possessed by a spirit. It's not an actual illness and you don't want to go to the hospital. And if you regain your memories the spirit will disappear. It sounds strange and hard to believe but there are actually facts to back you up. One of the reasons why I had such a difficult time believing you had amnesia was because you were so calm. Normally people would panic. They would try to go to a hospital or the police. But you tried to hide. Because no one would believe you. And because your spirit told you to do so. Another fact is that after you lost your memories you would sometimes space out and focus your gaze somewhere else. As if you were looking at or listening to something no one else could see. You are still able to make new memories and you are able to recall older ones with the help of various stimuli so your brain isn't damaged but rather something is blocking it. Am I correct with all my assumptions, spirit?"

"Wait, he's asking me?" Ace said. "Uhm… Sorry, Eric, but might I borrow your voice for a while? Hello, it's nice to meet you." 

"It's nice to meet me?" Gene raised an eyebrow. "It doesn't seem to be a very bright being."

"Hey!"

"Well, I don't think it is used to talking to a lot of other people aside of you, Eric. So, it is nice to meet you as well, spirit. Do you really wish to help him regain his memory and leave his body as soon as possible?" 

"Of course I do. But I also wanted to avoid rushing and leaving Eric in a bad situation. After all he still has to live out his life, even after I'm gone. The relationship of you two really has developed a lot these past few weeks. Do you seriously think I wanted to leave him halfway through? Of course I want to separate from him but I also want him to be happy and not have to stay behind in this half-baked mess."

"Your spirit might not be too bright but at least it seems to be a kind one. Spirit, I promise I will do everything in my might to help him regain his memories. Even if he leaves me as a result…" 

"Look, Gene, there's something I can tell you as an outsider. No matter what Eric remembers, he won't see you the same way as before when all he knew was your unsociable side. In the past weeks he learned to know this kind and awkward side of you as well. And it might not just be my own opinion. I am connected to him, I know what Eric feels. And he likes you a lot as well."

"Thank you, spirit," Gene's voice sounded a little rough. "I feel like I've calmed down a little." 

"Me too," Eric said once he regained his own voice. "So it will be okay when I remember." 

By this point however it was already early in the morning, neither had slept this night and moreover there was a conference at the university that Gene had to attend this evening. So for now they had to part. However, Gene promised to meet up with him the next day to talk even more about their past.

Should he call him to wish him good luck or to have fun or whatever might be appropriate Eric wondered. Gene's conference was about to start soon. Oh well, it couldn't hurt.  
It wasn't Gene who picked up though, it was Paul's voice he heard.

"Oh, hello, we're in a bit of a rush right now. I'm here to help Gene with a few last minute preparations and…" He seemed to listen to something that the phone couldn't pick up. "What do you mean, you forgot to pack your notes. Where the hell was your mind? Do you want me to go back to your place and quickly get them? Are you sure you're fine without them? Well, if you say so. You see, Eric, it's a bit hectic right now. He'll call you back later."

Oh shit… Was he really going to be fine without them though? He had been distracted by Eric's problems and now because of him he hadn't slept the entire night either so in a way it was Eric's fault if this conference was going poorly for Gene. He actually had the keys to Gene's apartment as far as he remembered. He had to get those notes for him. 

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ace asked. "It looks like the sun is already setting."

"We'll be fine. Neither Gene's place nor the university are too far from where I live. I could be at both places and back home again long before it's dark. Or I just stick around at the university then."

He quickly looked for Gene's keys, then he hurried out. The roads were still crowded with people. No problem. He stepped to the edge of the sidewalk, waiting for the cars to pass so he could cross it. Someone suddenly pushed his back.

Tires were screeching but it was already too late. A car hit him.

So much pain… Then darkness… Why did this feel so familiar to him?  
He suddenly remembered a dog… Not his dog but someone very close to him had had one and he had known it for years. They had been out together, sometimes he even watched the dog for a while. But it was dead now… Hit by a car…  
He remembered Gene being there as well, calm as ever, asking the driver to help them bring the dog to a vet. But who else was there?  
It had already been too late. The dog died.  
Would he die the same way now? 

Gene's phone rang once more and Paul picked it up.

"No, but he is nearby," Gene heard him say. For a moment he was quiet but he saw him grow pale. "I see… Okay, I'll tell him." Paul turned towards him. "Gene, someone from the hospital called. Eric had been in an accident. He is stable though. Some broken bones but else he should be fine."

Gene cursed. "Paul, what should I do? There's a conference starting in maybe five minutes and it might have an impact on my future. But the man I love was in an accident. He might not be in a critical condition but would it really be okay to leave him like this?" 

"Well, I can't decide your future for you. Do whatever you feel is right."

Gene stared at his desk, at all the documents, at the presentation he had worked on. Was this where his future lay? Oh for crying out loud, he wasn't the only one who would have a presentation today. The conference could go on without him. This was a personal emergency.

"Eric…" Ace's voice sounded as if it came from far away. "Eric, wake up… Something's wrong here…" 

Eric tried to force himself awake. Everything was spinning. Were painkillers usually that strong or did they have these side effects? Someone was standing in the darkness of the room, adjusting something at his IV bag. A doctor or…? 

"Don't we have a beautiful night today? One might think that a hospital is safe. But it is a public place after all. You are really hard to kill, just so you know. But don't worry, it will all be over soon and this time it will be painless."

Eric's breath went faster. He knew this voice. But he couldn't do anything to escape. He couldn't even scream.

"What are you doing here?" 

There was a doctor standing in the doorway! The tall stalker seemed to consider his options for a moment but then he ran, pushed the much shorter doctor out of the way and fled out into the corridor. The doctor didn't bother to follow him, instead he rushed over to Eric, started to check his IV bag and other things.

"Security will take care of him. Everything will be alright, don't worry," he mumbled quickly. "Gene will be here soon too. You'll be safe." 

This voice, his short stature - Eric thought he recognised him. Was this Vinnie? But he couldn't think about it any longer before he drifted off. 

Was this a dream he had? No, not a dream, a memory.  
Back then he told Gene… "I hate you." 

He had been with Bruce at that time.  
Bruce was sitting on a bench, his hands covering his face, his whole body shaking with sobs. Eric was hugging him, trying his best to comfort him, but he was in tears too.

Gene was standing in front of them, his arms crossed.  
"You should have already realised that your pets will die long before you. If you have time to grief, you should reflect on this event and learn from it for the future. You continued using the same leash until it was too old and snapped. The fact that the dog immediately ran once the leash snapped means it wasn't trained properly. These problems need to be corrected when you get the next dog. Also your reactions in case of emergency need to be improved, otherwise you would have noticed earlier that the dog still could have been saved. In this case it doesn't really matter anymore but the next time…"

Bruce had actually stopped crying and stared at him with huge eyes. And Eric just lost it.

"How can you say that?! He knows that he made mistakes, you don't need to tell him! But is this really something he has to think about right now? Is he not allowed to grief?" 

"Accidents happen sometimes, they can't be avoided. Everyone makes mistakes. But he could learn from them. When he raises his next dog…" 

"Just stop it! Leave us alone! I hate you, Gene! I fucking hate you!"

There were tears in his eyes when Eric woke up. So this was what Gene had been worried about all this time. And Eric had thought it had been something he didn't care about at all. But he actually wished he hadn't remembered this.

"Eric… please don't die…"

Someone was next to him, holding his hand. Slowly he opened his eyes. He still felt dizzy. What was Gene doing here? It was dark outside. Wasn't he supposed to hold a presentation right now? Or had he slept an entire day?

"You look confused," Gene said with a smile. "I was too worried and couldn't give my presentation. But don't worry about anything being your fault. It won't affect the job that I already have. You're more important to me than anything this conference could have led to. You still should get some rest. I will stay here for the entire night. Already asked if that would be okay. The doctor actually seemed to welcome it. Have you seen him yet? It's your friend from elementary school."

But Eric already drifted back into sleep before he could give an answer.

"Hey, Eric, can you see me now? Can you hear me?"

He was standing in front of Ace but at the same time he knew that he was still fast asleep and dreaming.

"Good," Ace said. "I had actually put some effort in to still stick around. In the real world you could neither see nor hear me anymore because we were already separated but I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. It was just a short time but it still was fun being with you. You might not remember everything yet but now that I'm gone it will slowly come back bit by bit over time. I'm glad I didn't ruin your life by making you lose your memories. Heh, in fact I might actually have improved it. I'm wishing you luck and I promise I'll never forget you."

"Farewell, Ace," Eric quietly told the vanishing spirit. "I think it was luck that we met."

"So you remembered this sad memory on your own," Gene said. Eric had told him about it as soon as he had woken up. "I had actually thought about it a lot and it was one of the first things I wanted to tell you. I am sorry about back then. I didn't understand your feelings; wanted to explain everything in a rational manner. I was ignorant. I've never known someone who I truly didn't want to lose before. But if you had died yesterday and someone had said those words to me… I wouldn't have been able to bear it. I know perfectly well that we have to part one day, but I just wished that you could live forever. After that, when you told me you hated me, you actually stopped talking to me for a while. I just wanted to be around you again so badly and didn't know what to do. So a few weeks later I asked you out. I didn't understand your pain so I ended up hurting you. I treasured you but I always made you angry. But still I was always thinking about you. I may make more mistakes in the future but I still want to do my best. That's why I want to ask… Do you still want to have me by your side?"

Eric just sat up as good as he could and quietly pulled him into embrace.

In the afternoon Kitty and Peter came by for a visit. Bruce was there too but Gene had wanted to speak to him in private for a moment. Eric had a feeling he knew what he wanted to apologise for.

"Oh, by the way," Kitty said after a while. "I heard some news. Yesterday night an unidentified man was found dead after falling from the roof of this hospital. You know how this hospital is kinda L-shaped? He would have been in perfect position to see into this room. They say he couldn't be identified but the description fits your stalker pretty well."

Was it really him? If it was, it meant Eric would finally be safe again. 

Several weeks later when Eric had finally recovered enough again Gene took him on another walk. They were slowly strolling through a park, hand in hand.

"Gene, I just remembered something," Eric told him. "In this very park I once talked to you about a failed love with someone. And then I slapped you because of your opinion on relationships. It's actually a bit embarrassing but… I was talking about you. I had learned about how little interest you had in dating so I talked as if I was heartbroken. I thought that if you had even the slightest interest in me you'd answer my feelings in some way…"

"Oh… That's why you slapped me when I told you to experience more of it." He sounded a little embarrassed at first but then he started to laugh. "So there never was any reason for us to be fighting from the very beginning. And if, when you talked to me about your failed love, I hadn't hurt your feelings out of jealousy that would have been the end of that."

"You were… jealous? So we both felt the same for each other right from the beginning? Oh damn, why were we such idiots…" 

"Yes, I think I already had feelings for you back then. I still can hardly understand my own feelings. But that's what you are here for - so I can keep going out with you until I finally understand."

"So that means… forever?" Eric asked with a grin and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Possibly. And there is still something else I wanted to show you…" He started to rummage in his bag. "This is a copy of what we received in the mail today. Paul actually wanted to tell you all later today but I couldn't hold back any longer."

Eric had a look at it. "Wait, that's the header of a record label… And they're writing…"

Someone finally had responded positively to their demo tape. It didn't mean anything yet, they could still fail, even with a record produced. But it was a first step into their future.


	4. Paul - part 1

Ace turned around. "So which path would you like to take? There are only a few leading here. I know that you can't remember but just a gut feeling would already help me out."

Eric's head was spinning. He couldn't help it, everything about this situation felt awfully familiar. And why did he feel as if a part of him had just wandered off to go on an adventure in a different dimension? He shook his head and tried to focus on the paths before him. "I think I'll take this one."

Eric's eyes fluttered open. He slowly sat up, still feeling a little dizzy. Where was he? From what he could see he was lying on some sort of bunk bed. Across from him there were more bunks but his seemed to be the only one occupied.

"Morning curly," Ace said, standing in the narrow corridor between the bunks. "Or maybe it's already afternoon? It's definitely still bright outside. While you were asleep I tried looking around as far as I could move away from you. You seem to be in some kind of bus. The door was open so I could also wander outside a few steps. There are other busses around as well, I saw parts of a stage and some tents in the distance. You seem to be on some music festival grounds. Guessing by this bus alone you could be part of the road crew. To look around more thoroughly I need your help though."

Eric carefully got out of his bunk and started to look around. Maybe he could find his own luggage somewhere - any more personal things he didn't expect at a place like that. So he was part of a road crew and they were in the middle of a festival when he lost his memories… That raised some new problems. 

Ace voiced out loud what he was thinking. "Do you even know what a roadie is supposed to do in your condition? There will be a hell lot of people around who could know you and might get suspicious when you start acting strange. You have to be very careful."

After a little while Eric found his backstage tag. So his name was indeed Eric Carr and he was part of someone's crew. There also was a neatly written time plan - surely not written by him but rather their road manager and then handed out to him - which listed the festival as the last stop of a long tour. Well, shit, now there was an even lower chance he could explain mistakes he might make away as "rookie mistakes". The festival would last a couple of days and the band was on stage on each of them. There also was a scribbled note, probably his own handwriting, about an upcoming trip some days after the festival was over. But where had he planned to go and with whom? No matter how hard Eric tried to remember, nothing about this entire plan seemed familiar. Slowly Eric felt fear rising. Who was he even working for? What was he supposed to do? He was probably expected to work somewhere in only a few hours but he had no idea where. 

"Don't panic. I'm with you. I'm a master of improvisation. We will figure something out," Ace tried to soothe him.

Suddenly a phone started ringing in the depths of his luggage. Eric started digging for it and after a while finally found it. The caller ID said" Paul". 

"Should we answer, I wonder," Ace said. "After all, we don't know this guy. Could be someone who might end up taking advantage of you."

"Or maybe someone from my work," Eric said.

Whoever this caller was, he was very persistent. A good two or three minutes had already passed and the phone was still ringing. In the end Eric decided it would be best to answer the call.

"Hello, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," a voice, who he thought to be Paul's, said. "Since I don't need to be on stage until the evening and you got some free time too I thought we could go somewhere and do something together, or just simply hang out and relax for some hours. Do you have anything specific in mind? After all this would be the closest we have gotten to a real date in a while."

A date? Eric felt his heart beating faster. So he was talking to his boyfriend right now?

"Not sure. Whatever you like to do," Eric said, trying to keep his answer short. 

"Oohhh, I would have a lot of things in mind," Paul said with a chuckle. "But I don't think you'd be up for them yet. So I'll think of someplace we can go to. I'll be there at the crew bus in 30 minutes." 

Ace and Eric looked at each other. Now they additionally had to try and stay inconspicuous while dealing with a relationship.

For the next couple of minutes Eric tried his best to get ready. He had closed the door of the bus just in case he needed to change but the wardrobe he had brought with him was made for hard work and not really suitable for a date. But on the other hand, maybe he had never been especially fancy. And then all he could do was wait. And then wait even longer. 

"It's already been far longer than just 30 minutes," Ace said. "What is taking him so long? Wait a moment… Are you being stood up?? Why is he leaving you waiting around like this? He hasn't even contacted you!" He paused in his rant. "Hold on. Maybe you're usually meeting outside?" 

In that case he just had been the one keeping Paul waiting. He quickly rushed to the door and looked outside.

And almost went deaf from all that screeching. This bus apparently cancelled out noise coming from outside really well. Only a few metres away there was a crowd of squealing fangirls and fanboys, surrounding a single guy who seemed way too pleased with all the attention he got.

"C'mon, Paulie, don't say things like that," Eric heard one of the fans say. 

"Yeah, you should ditch that plain old boyfriend of yours." 

"Let's all go have fun together." 

"As I said today is no good. I already have other plans," the guy in their middle said. 

"Does that mean you'll have fun with us another day?" one of the fans asked.

The guy grinned. "Of course. If I have the time, that is. Don't worry, all of you will get your turn eventually." 

A lot more squealing happened. 

"Geez, is he one of the rockstars or something? Why did he have to withdraw among the crew trucks with his groupies? Doesn't he have a place of his own for that?" Ace asked. "Wait a moment… Paulie? Is he THAT Paul? Don't tell me you're supposed to meet up with that guy!" 

Eric just shrugged helplessly. 

"Anyways, I'll need to get going," Paul said. "My boyfriend will wait for me as long as he needs to but it will get late at this rate." 

"Sheesh, you should just break up with him already," one of the fans said.

"Uh… I think I must be wrong," Ace mumbled. "Yeah, Paul is a common name after all. Let's just get back inside and give your Paul a call. Maybe he got scared off by this crowd and is now just waiting until they leave so they wouldn't latch onto him too or something." 

Eric walked back and closed the door behind himself. The ruckus immediately became quiet. He took up his phone again and tried to call Paul. No one answered.

Ace let out a sigh. "That really was something. I thought picture-perfect playboys like that only existed in movies. If a guy like that was your boyfriend there's no way you could talk to him about your amnesia. The moment he found out about it he'd probably try to take advantage of you. But on the off chance he was your boyfriend, what would you do? Would you still try dating him for a while? Or would you break up with him as long as you still could, while there are no feelings involved because of your amnesia?"

Eric shook his head. "I don't think I'd be able to stay with someone like that."

"Of course! We can just get as much information as we need out of him and then we should try to find a way to break up with him. Well… It's not like we know that that guy actually is your boyfriend though." 

There suddenly was a knock on the door. The man waiting outside was now wearing sunglasses and wasn't surrounded by screaming fans anymore but he was definitely that same guy.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he said with an apologetic smile. "I ran into a bit of trouble on the way."

"What do you mean you ran into trouble? We saw everything!" Ace exclaimed. He turned to Eric. "I'm seriously wondering why a sweetheart like you was even going out with this guy before."

Eric gave Paul a once-over, hoping he wasn't too obvious about it. He surely was good looking. But was that really the only reason why he was together with a playboy like that? 

"Sorry that I made you wait. I thought I was fine around here so I took off my sunglasses. Guess I was wrong… Well, they're gone now at least. Let's go." With that he turned around and walked away. 

"Wait, he makes you wait for that long, flirts with a bunch of other people in front of you and this is how he apologises?" Ace exclaimed. "I swear, if I could touch humans I'd whack the back of this guy's stupid head…" 

Paul stopped and turned to look at Eric. "What is it? Why aren't you coming? Are you mad?" 

Well, currently it wasn't like he especially cared for Paul so Eric couldn't exactly say he felt jealous. But still, this guy annoyed him. 

"You should have ignored those other people," he told Paul, crossing his arms. 

Paul raised his eyebrows. "Huh… Are you jealous then? This is unusual. It's not a bad feeling though. But it would be kind of mean to be too harsh towards them. They don't have bad intentions." 

"Don't have bad intentions? They were telling you to break up with Eric!" Ace called out.

Paul walked closer to Eric again and took off his sunglasses.  
"Alright, how about this? I will take any request you have for me now to make up for it. Ask me anything. If there's something you want I can get it for you. Although… I would prefer it if your request was something of a sexier nature." He grinned. "So? Just look into my eyes… What do you want me to do? I will do anything you ask of me." For a moment there was an awkward silence between them. "Hey. I'm looking into your eyes from such a close distance and you think nothing of it?" 

"You're a little too close…" Eric mumbled and shifted away a bit. This was his boyfriend for crying out loud, he needed to play along. But this whole situation just made him feel uncomfortable. 

Paul let out a sigh. "You really are an innocent sweetheart. Well, I guess that means you feel some romantic tension around me at least. I really want to get closer to you, you know…" He shrugged. "Oh well, I wasn't expecting this to work on you after all this time anyways. So let's go. As far as I know a town is just half an hour on foot away. We could take a walk, spend some hours there and then be back right on time for everyone. Tommy planned in a lot of time buffers."

"Tommy… So is he the one who did your time planner for the tour? Then you might meet him at this place sooner or later," Ace mused as they quietly walked next to Paul. "But there's also something else I realised after what Paul just said. Could it be possible that you've been pretty far with your relationship already? Could he be expecting more after that date or his show or whatever? Damn, that could get weird with me attached." He gave an awkward chuckle. "I mean, I could cut our shared senses for a short time… Unless you're into that, I'm not judging." He quickly shook his head. "No, no, let's not think about that yet." 

"Yeah, let's not," Eric thought. He was already scared enough as it was. There was no way in hell he could go that far, no matter if he risked to become suspicious or not.

"I'm pretty sure you'll be fine." Ace tried to sound assuring again. "Just chat with him. He might have a lot of details about your lost memories and your daily life." 

"Are you okay?" Paul asked. "You've been pretty quiet. You seem different than usual."

"Aah! Code red!" Ace called out. "He's already becoming suspicious. Just… Just try getting through it with a smile."

"I'm okay," Eric replied. He felt too anxious to put on a smile. 

"Hmm… It's fine when you're okay, but… Let me know if you don't feel well. I know how straining it can be sometimes, even if you're used to touring, especially in your situation when you have other things on your plate than just exhausting work. Maybe we should just sit down somewhere and relax." Paul thought it over for a moment, then he suggested, "There's a cinema in town. I haven't been to one anymore in ages and we still have more than enough time. Let's just go there, shall we?"

The lights were dim but the movie hadn't started yet. They were almost alone in the room. At this time of day barely anyone went to the cinema yet. Eric tried to relax a little. At least he now wasn't expected to have conversations anymore. 

"No one is paying attention to us anymore. I'm finally able to look at your face normally," Paul quietly said to him. "I'm worried about what you might think about me if I only ever meet up with you at dark places like that or at night or very quiet and private places that not many can enter. But if I ever take off my sunglasses in public it attracts such a huge crowd I can't move. And sometimes not even the sunglasses are enough. It's been difficult doing anything where it's light. I'm sorry my condition is setting such restrictions for us."

"Condition?" Ace asked. 

"But if it's this dark I doubt anyone will be able to look at my eyes. If only these eyes worked on you too," Paul let out a sigh. "Well, guess I can't have everything. Let's just relax and watch the movie. I remember that you mentioned you really wanted to see it."

"Wait, don't change the topic. What do you mean? A condition with your eyes?" Ace asked. 

But Eric knew he couldn't simply ask him about it. It probably was something he already had known before and it would have been weird to ask now.

They were back right on time. Paul's band was the first to be on stage that day, the opening act of the festival so to speak, but while that was still a while ahead the first preparations had already begun. Eric was called away to help unload and check their equipment and start setting up the backline, Paul also had to go and take care of things of his own. Thank goodness for name tags. That way Eric at least found out he was closely working together with two other people named Peter and Tommy. Peter was a pretty silent guy but still Eric had the feeling that the two of them were actually really close. Tommy was meticulous and overplanning absolutely everything. Peter was annoyed by this because, as he said, they knew exactly what they were doing. But Eric was actually glad that someone was going through every detail they still needed to take care of - even if most of the time Tommy seemed to just voice his own thoughts out loud for himself, thinking that no one else listened.

After a while the message tone of Eric's phone chimed - a text from Paul.  
"Again, sorry for being late," it read. "I'll try to make up for it."

"A message right after a date and even though you might still see each other more often today?" Ace said. "He really seems to be sorry. Or is coming across as that devoted part of being a playboy?"

Eric didn't really have time to muse about it before Tommy asked him to take care of the instruments. Paul's guitar needed some new strings so he at least tried to do just that - now without anyone being nearby who could tell him what exactly he had to do.

Someone behind him chuckled. "What are you doing?" he heard Paul's voice. "You're stringing it left handed. Has dating me flustered you that much or do you just think I'm up for a challenge? Let's see how well I might actually do."

He had walked up to Eric, now stood very close behind him and put his arms around him to reach out for the guitar.

It felt like a lightning flash through Eric's mind. Something like that had already happened before. Paul standing so close behind him, his arms around Eric, trying to play that way. Being so close to him, it made him feel all warm and fuzzy. But at the same time he hated how he felt…

He felt how his legs gave in. Thankfully Paul was already there to catch him and gently helped him to sit down for a while.

"Eric, what is wrong? Are you okay?" Paul sounded really worried.

"It was the memory that returned to you," Ace said, looking slightly dizzy too. "The force of it knocked you right off your feet. It was just a short one but it must have been important to you."

"What is going on here?" Eric now also heard Tommy's voice. He seemed to have been nearby and now also had come to check up on him. "Is everything okay, Eric? Paul, you should really stop seducing or otherwise bothering people while they are still trying to work."

"I didn't do anything. I just tried to help." 

"Sure… Until yesterday Eric was still okay, then he goes out with you and suddenly he has a breakdown." 

Eric didn't want anyone to start a fight over him, neither did he want to let down his coworkers, even if he barely had any idea what he was supposed to do, so he tried to shake off his dizziness and, still with a bit of help from Paul, got back to his feet.

"I'm alright now, I really am," he assured his worried boyfriend before following Tommy to see wherever else he would be needed.

For the next hours until the start of the concert he was doing alright, but he still couldn't help but notice that both Tommy and Peter had an eye on him as if they expected him to break down again any second. During the concert he could relax a little again. All he seemed to have to do was to stand at the ready in case he was needed and Peter was there next to him as well. He now also saw the other band members for the first time. So Paul was part of a three man group, together with a tall bassist and a short, blond drummer. If only he could remember their names. 

As soon as the band left the stage it was their cue to hurry back out and clear out their equipment for the next band's performance.

Paul touched his shoulder in passing. "I see you later. Wait at the usual spot for me," he whispered into his ear. And before Eric could say anything in return Paul was already off the stage and Peter nudged him to hurry up.

What usual spot? Didn't they only arrive at the festival grounds today? Or did they have a certain tour bus or corner of the stage where they had always met during the tour? 

Once their equipment was safely stored away Eric finally had the chance to wander the festival grounds for a while. Sudden screaming told him exactly where Paul was right now. He walked towards the crowd. 

"Oh, looks like your boyfriend is here," he heard someone shout. 

"More like the nuisance is here," someone else added. "Hey, Paul, are you planning to walk off with your boyfriend again?" 

Paul shrugged lightly. "Mm, not really. Eric, good work today, see you another time."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow Paul," Eric said with a half-hearted wave, feeling slightly dejected.

Paul left together with the group but not without a last glance at Eric. 

"What the hell is wrong with him? He's the one who asked you to wait for him! What's going on here? Are you really letting him walk all over you like that?" Ace protested. 

"Maybe he's constantly getting swarmed on a daily basis. Maybe the usual thing to do was to meet up in a different place after he escaped them and where we could have some peace and quiet," Eric assumed.

"But I wonder why you'd sneak around like that. You're his boyfriend! Shouldn't those others be stepping aside for you?"

Eric could only shrug. "Who knows. I'm not famous like him. I'm just a nobody. They won't care what I think of it."

He wandered around for a while longer, hoping he would just come across the right place by accident - maybe he would see Paul already waiting there for him. By now it was already getting dark. He probably once felt right at home at a place like this but now he just felt completely lost and all the noise and hustle around him made him feel anxious, even with Ace at his side.

He felt relieved when his phone started to ring and he saw Paul's name.

"Hello? It's me, where are you? I'm at the usual place. Don't tell me you collapsed again somewhere." He sounded concerned. 

Eric didn't want to worry Paul. But he also couldn't tell him that he really had gotten lost, not without raising suspicion. 

"Actually I'm not feeling well."

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have made you wait." Hearing the guilt in Paul's voice didn't make him feel any better either. "I'll come get you, don't move from where you are. And don't hang up either. Where are you exactly? Can you describe what is nearby?" 

Ace let out his breath. "Sounds like he's coming to find you so we're safe for now. But what will we do tomorrow if he asks you to wait at the usual spot again?"

"I guess I will just have to follow him at a safe distance so neither he nor his groupies will spot me. Then I'll be able to see where he's waiting for me," Eric suggested. Was there really any other way?

When Paul arrived he was completely out of breath. He seemed to have run the whole way. At first Paul just wanted to accompany him straight back to the crew bus but Eric convinced him that he felt okay again and to hang out for a little longer. He hoped he could still find out more about Paul and their past together. 

For a while they wandered around at the edges of the festival grounds. There were fewer people around, especially no crazy groupies, so they were undisturbed. For the most part Paul was silent. Eric wondered if he liked to listen to the distant buzz of the crowd and the band that was currently playing or if he rather didn't talk because he just enjoyed Eric's quiet company. 

"I wonder what is wrong with you today," he said eventually. "You usually are so independent, hardly ever asking for or accepting my help. Though I can't deny it makes me a little happy when you rely on me. It makes me think that you might actually have feelings for me." He lightly smiled to himself. "Or am I just fooling myself? Oh, you don't have to answer that. I doubt you'd answer anyways." 

Not like Eric knew what to answer. 

"It's really hard to figure out what kind of person Paul is," Ace said. "He seems really nice when you're alone together. But on the other hand he's prioritising his groupies over you. Before you lost your memories you might have thought it was okay that he was a flirt as long as you were his favourite. I just don't get why though… Besides, it just sounded as if Paul was actually the one who had unrequited feelings towards you. But if that's the case then why does he make it seem in front of his groupies like you're not seriously dating?"

Eric wondered if before he had lost his memories he had known how Paul really felt about him and if that had been the reason why they were going out. What was the reason though why he had simply been okay with Paul flirting with other people? He didn't say anything now because without his memories he barely cared but what about back then? Had he really been such a huge pushover?

An hour later they already arrived at the crew bus that was Eric's sleeping quarter. Eric would have liked it if they had stayed together a little while longer since he still had barely found out anything new but on the other hand he also felt quite drained. A lot of things had happened today and he almost always had needed to be on guard.

Instead of letting him off with a simple good night though, Paul had gotten really close. He gently pushed Eric against the bus and leaned in even closer. Their faces were only a few centimetres away from each other when he stopped.

"You won't close your eyes?" Paul asked. "Are you still resisting?" 

Eric felt his heart race. Was it really just from shock and anxiety though?

"Paul…?"

"I won't do it if you don't want me to. But do you really dislike the thought? Or was I really just fooling myself, thinking you actually had feelings for me…? Just close your eyes… I won't do anything more than that…" 

For a few more seconds they stayed that way, just looking into each other's eyes. Then with a sigh Paul let go of him again. 

"So it's still no good? It's pretty damn hard to win you over. I thought today might be okay. But maybe this is karma for trying to take advantage of your weakness. We only have a few weeks left but it seems I have to build up trust with you from square one. I've never had such a challenge in my life."

Eric just looked at him in confusion.

"You might just be the first date in my life that I haven't been able to win over," Paul continued. "I guess a bittersweet feeling like this isn't bad once in a while. Thinking about it, being just friends could also be nice for a change…" He shook his head. "No, I don't want this time to end up being just a memory. I'll definitely make you mine during the time we have left. This is one thing I'll never admit defeat to." He took a deep breath and put on a slight smile, though it looked a bit sad and defeated. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good night." 

"Uh… What was that just now?" Ace asked, looking after Paul as he walked away. "What did he mean by only a few weeks left and not being able to win you over until then? The way he said it makes it sound almost like you both are playing a game. So isn't he going out with you because he likes you after all? Weren't you going out with him because you liked him before you lost your memories? If he's trying to win you over, wouldn't it be a lot better if he showed more loyalty towards you?"

Why did everything have to be so confusing? 

As Eric entered the bus Tommy and Peter were already in their bunks. Tommy seemed fast asleep but Peter sat up slightly. 

"Eric?" he whispered. "Is everything okay?" 

"Uh… Yeah… Why do you ask?"

Had he noticed what was going on outside?

Peter nodded at the other bunk. "Because Tommy told me you broke down today."

"Oh… that… Yeah, I'm okay. Just a dizzy spell I guess." 

"Alright? If you say so… I hope you're not coming down with anything."

"I'll try to watch my health," Eric said and climbed into his bunk as well.

Tommy and Peter, they both actually seemed like good people. But still Eric wasn't sure how far he could trust them when it came to his amnesia. 

His phone chimed with a new message. He almost expected one more "good night" from Paul but it was from an unknown number instead. 

"Where's today's daily report?" it read. 

What was this about? What daily report? Was this related to work? But not even Tommy had mentioned anything about daily reporting something. There was nothing in his phone history either that could have given him a clue. Had he deleted all of those messages? But why would he? There was nothing so secretive about a roadie's work that he would have needed to protect certain outgoing messages. He decided to ignore it for now. If this was actually related to his job the people he worked for would surely mention it again. 

The next morning Eric was up early. He wouldn't be needed for his job until later in the afternoon but Paul had seen their little down time as another chance to hang out with each other and sent him a text to meet up near the crew busses.

"Uhm, excuse me, sir… Do you know where we can find Paul Stanley?"

Eric turned around. A small group of girls had walked up to him. He gave them a quick once-over. They surely didn't look like part of the crazed fan club - more like they were only here to ask for an autograph and pictures. Moreover they had been polite to him. So Eric told them he was going to meet him here any minute anyways. As if by command Paul rounded the corner of one of the busses. He wasn't wearing his sunglasses. And immediately the screaming started. Paul gave Eric a slightly pained look.

"Shall I wait at the usual spot?" Eric asked. 

Paul silently nodded and mouthed a "Thank you". 

Eric only withdrew out of their sight though, after all he had planned to follow Paul to their usual spot.

"Can I please have your autograph? And your number???" he heard one of the girls exclaim. 

"What? Number? I rather want him!" another girl said. 

"What is wrong with you?" the third girl chided, "I'm so sorry! We only wanted autographs… and…actually… would you mind if we stuck around for some more?" 

Paul gave them a weak smile. "Of course you can have my autograph. And after the concert you can have so much more. If by then you can still remember you wanted more than just my autograph you're more than welcome." 

"Really??" they all exclaimed. 

"Yes, of course. But only if you still remember."

Ace gave Eric a confused look. "What's that supposed to mean? Why would he emphasise the part about them remembering?"

"Hey, Eric, what are you doing just standing there?" Tommy had left one of the nearby busses and walked up to him to see what Eric had been looking at. "Oh…"

For a few seconds they both just stared at the spectacle then Tommy looked back at Eric. 

"Are you jealous? Hm, you don't look like you are. Do you not care? If it was me, if I saw someone I was going out with giving their number - or even more - to others, I wouldn't keep my mouth shut about it." 

But from what little Eric had learned so far it seemed as if before his amnesia he had simply accepted it. Or maybe his past self was actually boiling with rage in secret while these things happened?

"Actually I do want him to stop," Eric said. It didn't matter what he had felt before. Currently it had been erased from his mind anyways - currently it was just frustrating. 

Tommy said out loud what Eric was thinking, "Yeah, of course you'd get frustrated if the person you liked acted like that. I know I've asked this before, but you're going out with him because you like him, right? Wouldn't it be best if you just told him you don't like what he's doing?" He gave Paul and the excited girls another glance then shrugged and patted Eric's shoulder before walking off. "Don't get me wrong but you sure have a weird relationship."

"Yeah, you really do…" Ace agreed. 

A couple of minutes later as Eric had already started to become bored and let his gaze and mind wander Ace ripped him out of his thoughts. 

"Time… 10:04 The target has begun to move, followed by a gaggle of geese. Commence tailing."

Keeping some distance Eric followed Paul. At first it seemed as if he wanted to accompany the girls all the way to the camping area for the visitors but then their walk already ended after a shorter time than expected. 

"Time… 10:15 The target has separated from the geese near the stage area. He retreats alone into one of the bands' busses. Wait, the target is coming out again. He starts running. Has he noticed our presence? At this rate he will think you're some sort of stalker. Abort mission?"

But Eric shook his head. Maybe Paul wasn't running because he noticed someone following but rather because he was in a hurry to get to the meeting place. So Eric stayed on his heels until they were behind the stage area and near the crew busses again.

"Target has stopped," Ace commented. "He's looking around like he's confused. This is likely the meeting point. Tailing complete. Over and out."

"I'm over here," Eric called out as he walked closer.

Paul let out his breath visibly relieved.

"I'm sorry for that. Tried to make it as quick as possible. But I want to make up for it anyways, and I also still have to make up for yesterday. Is there anywhere you want to go? It might not be a good idea to stick around this area. But maybe we could have a walk around the next town where people seem to be less fascinated by me and a quick lunch there before I'm required back here for an interview."

Since he couldn't think of much else Eric agreed.

The few hours they spent together passed so quickly. From what Paul was talking about Eric at least learned a few things about the past couple of days of this tour and that he apparently already had worked for Paul before a couple of times, but nothing about it really jogged his memories. And before long they had to return to the festival grounds and Paul walked off somewhere to get prepared for the interview.  
Not knowing what else to do with neither Peter nor Tommy anywhere in sight, Eric already started to shift around equipment they might need in a few hours when a tall guy waved him over. From what Eric could see he was wearing a press pass but he couldn't read the name, at least not without having a closer look at it which he didn't want to do in case he already knew this guy and would come across as suspicious. 

"What an honour to meet you here," the tall stranger started with a beaming smile. "I'm a fan of your work. Can I take a picture with you? Also, could I shake your hand? And can I take your autograph? Can I take you home?" When Eric just gave him a confused and slightly startled look he raised his eyebrows. "Huh? Why are you getting so tense? Are you that surprised? You act like you don't know me."

"We don't. At all," Ace said. "But the way he's acting it seems like he's a friend of yours." 

"No... No… It's just… really a surprise," Eric stuttered. 

"Right?" the other man said. "Since you're working at the event I'm reporting about I wanted to drop by at least once. Do you happen to know where the rest of that band is? Only Gene is exactly where he's supposed to be. I saw your namesake earlier emptying the food truck pretty much on his own. He's now probably sick somewhere. And I bet Paul is off with some groupies again. Doesn't that make you jealous? Or are you used to that already?" He gave Eric a slightly worried look. "You are awfully quiet… Oh… I'm sorry, would you get in trouble for talking to me while at work?"

Thankfully at that moment Paul appeared, saving Eric from having to give an answer. 

"I thought I heard my name. Am I needed somewhere?"

Suddenly the journalists behaviour notably changed. He visibly tensed up and becoming all flustered was barely able to get out a word anymore. 

"Wow, he's affecting him too…" Ace said. "Every time Paul comes out this happens to a hell lot of people. I didn't really expect it to happen to you friend too though." 

"Oh, I remember," Paul said. "You must be Bruce Kulick. We are supposed to meet for an interview in a few minutes. Eric has mentioned a friend named Bruce a few times but I didn't know we would be meeting with that very same person today." 

Bruce seemed to have finally found his voice again. "…Oh, yes… That's right, um… You're Paul, right… By the way, I know this is sudden but do you believe in love at first sight?!"

Paul pinched the bridge of his nose. "…oh dear. Well, I do." He walked behind the other man. "But I don't know if this is it. For example if I remain right here, how do you feel now?" 

It was as if Bruce woke up from a trance. He quickly shook his head. "Huh…? What was I doing?" 

"Sorry, I've got a strange condition. Everyone who looks into my eyes starts acting all weird," Paul explained. 

"What? So the rumour is true?"

"You've experienced it firsthand just now. But I promise I'll wear sunglasses during the interview and look at you as little as possible. I'm going to pick up Kitty-Eric. It might take a while though. So you two go ahead and finish your chat." He gave Eric a weak and apologetic smile and ran off.

Bruce let out his breath. "That was surprising. I'm sorry, I know he's your boyfriend but I think I said something stupid just now. But it really felt like I was under a spell or something. I'm really sorry. I was out of my mind. Are you mad at me?" 

"I don't think you could get mad after witnessing something like that," Ace said  
"That was like part of some kind of magic show right now." 

"I'm not," Eric said. "Just don't fall in love with him." 

"I won't! Ever!" Bruce assured him. "But are you really that serious about him? That's unexpected. I was actually worried that you might be having trouble. Are you really okay? That guy's definitely had more than his share of lovers. I thought if I actually met him I'd be able to tell if that rumour was a lie or not. So what's the truth?"

"I'm not sure. What kind of rumours have you heard?" Eric asked. 

"Actually I've heard a lot of rumours, but the one I hear the most is that he just goes from one lover to another, breaking up with them after sleeping with them. He's really nice while you're dating but he just thinks of it as a fun game. I thought the rumour that anyone would fall for him if they looked into his eyes was definitely fake… But now after meeting him I know that it's real."  
He hesitated for a moment.  
"Uhm, this might be prying a little but… how far have you two gone? I'm sorry, I know you don't like talking about these things. It's just… after meeting him right now I started thinking that other rumours might be true too. And if that particular one is true he might just throw you away once he had his fun with you. I'm sure you know what you're doing. But I'm just worried."

Eric bit his lip. What was he supposed to say to something like that? Those news right now felt like a punch. But they were only rumours… Were they?

"Oh, it looks like I kept you for a long time. I know you're working and I should get to my own work too," Bruce said. He pulled Eric into a tight hug and quietly added, "But if anything happens, you can call me any time." 

"I wonder if any of this is true," Ace quietly said. "If it is and you believed the rumour before losing your memories… It's possible that you didn't even let him so much as kiss you because you really liked him and didn't want to be thrown away…" 

"I'm sorry we couldn't spend more time together after all. This took longer than expected," Paul apologised as he ran into Eric again a good while later. "You look kind of down. What's wrong? Thinking of it, you haven't seemed too well since yesterday." 

"That's your fault! All yours!" Ace complained. 

"Do you still not feel well? Take care of yourself. If you get sick you won't be able to go on our weekend trip." 

The trip? Wasn't that also marked in his calendar a couple of days after the festival was over? He had almost forgotten about it. Paul had just brought up the best topic.

"So, uhm… are you ready for the trip?" Eric asked and knew how awkward he must have sounded.

"It's not really something to get ready for," Paul said. "Why do you ask all of a sudden? Is there something you still need? I'd be willing to help… Although going places with a lot of people would cause us some trouble, so I can't go shopping with you. If you need something maybe you could go with your journalist friend? He was going on the trip too, right? Not in his function as a journalist I mean but because you wanted some more company you felt comfortable with?"

Bruce too? So this was for a group? Eric had already expected it to be more like some kind of lovers weekend getaway. Who else was coming?

"Your sudden curiosity is making me think you're starting to look forward to it. I don't think we'll be able to be alone together though."  
Paul chuckled.  
"Oh, I know. Do you think we can sneak out at night? If there's a chance that we can be alone together I definitely can't wait either. I'm sure in the mountains the night sky will be beautiful. I want to see it with you. And only you. What do you think? Doesn't that sound good?"  
He let out a sigh, his smile suddenly looking wistful.  
"Who am I kidding… I would need to win you over by the time we went to the lodge if we're going to do that, wouldn't I? Usually I'd say it would be an easy thing to do within just a few days but this is you we're talking about… We've been working so hard the past couple of months, now we should be able to let loose and have some fun at the lodge."

He looked at Eric who was just staring back at him as if waiting for this all to make sense.  
"No good? I guess I have to try harder then. Just don't let someone else win you over until then." 

"Let someone else win you over…" Ace repeated. "Is that really something to say to your boyfriend…? But at least it's some kind of group trip and you don't have to spend the time alone. Or do you think that's a shame?" 

Eric really didn't know. After the recent rumours he had heard he had no idea what to make of Paul. Maybe it was better they weren't alone together… 

"Paul, stop seducing people while they are still trying to work," Tommy's voice was suddenly heard. It seemed to be some kind of standard greeting he had for Paul, no matter if he currently was flirting with someone or not. "And hi, Eric. Kitty needs some help with the drum setup and since you are our specialist I thought I'd rather leave that matter to you."

Rubbing the back of his neck Paul gave them a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise how long I already held you up. And I guess I need to get going too. I'll see you later. Please wait for me at our usual spot."

So the blond drummer was Eric's namesake, also nicknamed Kitty for some reason. He seemed to be a pretty nice guy, happily chatting away about whatever random topic he could think about, not minding if Eric actually knew how to respond or not.

At some point he lowered his voice and asked him with a secretive grin, "By the way… You haven't broken up with Paul yet?" 

"What?!" Ace called out loud.

Eric just gave the other man a surprised look so Kitty continued, "Well, from the look on your face I can see the answer is no. You have only a few weeks left. I was just thinking it was about time." 

A few weeks left… Hadn't Paul said the same thing?

"A few weeks left for what?" It had slipped out of Eric's mouth before he could really think about what he was saying.

"Oh don't play dumb with me," Kitty chuckled. "Anyways, since it's about time the question now is, who will be next?" 

"Hey, don't talk like it's already decided," Ace complained. "What is this? Some kind of game?" 

"But the fact that he still hasn't broken up with you means you're still refusing to sleep with him, right? Isn't Paul just going to get annoyed by it? You're one hell of a challenge. I'm sure he'd go for someone easier next time. Hey, maybe he could give me a shot. I'm sure as hell easy," Kitty said in a joking manner and laughed. Eric couldn't join in though.

The night after the band's concert was unusually cold. Eric had his arms crossed and was treading from one foot to the other to keep warm. In some distance he heard the music of another band and the noise of the crowd, but at least no screaming fan club. 

"I seriously don't understand why you keep putting up with this…" Ace grumbled with a deep sigh.

Footsteps were approaching fast and soon Eric saw Paul running towards them. Guessing from how out of breath he was he must have run over half of the festival grounds. 

"I'm sorry I made you wait for so long," Paul said as soon as he had caught his breath again. "I ran here so I at least warmed up a bit but I'm sure you must be getting cold by now. Usually I would suggest that at least our hands would be warmer if we held them. But you wouldn't like that, right?"

"I wouldn't mind holding hands," Eric replied. He really didn't, in fact he actually liked to. And that despite everything he had heard about Paul before. It was a really confusing feeling.

"Wait… Really?" Paul's eyes widened in surprise but then he smiled softly. "You really want me to?" He reached for Eric's hand, holding it gently, almost carefully. "My chest feels so tight just from holding hands with you. I wonder why? It's strange…" he quietly said. 

Holding hands they wandered along the edges of the festival grounds, always trying to stay away from larger groups and places where there was too much light. 

For the most part Paul had remained quiet. Something seemed to weigh heavy on his mind.

"Kitty asked if I'd go out with him instead, said it would be more fun and what an easy lay he'd be," he suddenly started to tell Eric. "I knew he was just trying to make fun of me but… While Kitty had just been joking he's not the only one who says things like that. Why… Why is it that they can say those things with a straight face? They know I'm already going out with someone but they don't even hesitate to try and steal me from others. At times I… I start to think that I actually really dislike dating anyone."

Eric looked at him in surprise. Hearing Paul crack like that was probably the last he expected.

"Do you dislike me too?"

Paul bit his lip. "...No. You don't have feelings for me, do you? You wouldn't try to steal me from others, right?" He sighed. "I'm sorry to cut this short. But I'm not feeling too well. Can we please walk back?" 

When they were back among the tour busses Paul looked at Eric as if he still wanted to say or do something but then he just shook his head and only said, "See you tomorrow. Good night." 

He turned around and walked away but as Eric entered his crew bus Ace saw how Paul stopped and silently looked back at Eric one last time. 

"That really was odd," Ace said a while later when Eric was already sitting on his bunk. "And all just because you held hands or because the Kitten made a stupid joke?"

Eric's message tone chimed. A message from Paul that read, "I know this is sudden, but would you confess to someone who is already taken? Would you want to go out with them even if that meant taking them away from the one who loves them? I've never been in such a situation before so I don't really know but maybe that's just a normal thing… I think I'm confused…"

"What's wrong? Doesn't he seem kinda gloomy to you?" Ace asked, reading along too.

Eric could only agree. Maybe even more so than he had been before.

"No, I wouldn't confess," Eric texted back. 

"Yeah, you're right…" came Paul's answer. "I probably wouldn't say anything either. I feel better now. Thanks."

"That sounded pretty personal," Ace said. "Like something you'd only ask someone you knew well… I wonder what exactly Paul thinks of you…"

The next evening he was setting up the drums together with Kitty-Eric again. Throughout the day he had barely even seen Paul. If he hadn't texted him earlier on, asking him about watching the end of the festival together, Eric would have been worried that Paul was avoiding him.

"So I heard the festival will end with a huge light show and fireworks," Kitty said. "I assume you'll be watching it together with Paul? Somewhere on the sidelines where there's not too many people to notice you? I'll probably be right in the middle of the party. Together with Gene. And I also asked Tommy. Having two hot guys with you definitely beats having just one."

He looked almost comically smug about it. 

"Is this a contest now?" Ace quipped. 

"Anyways, go and have fun with Paul," Kitty continued. "And don't let the fanclub get into your way." 

That actually was one of Eric's biggest worries.

They were supposed to meet up as soon as their last show was over. However, half an hour later and still no one had showed up.

"Are you being stood up again?!" Ace complained. "Why does this guy even bother to ask you out if he never shows up on time?" 

Another half an hour passed and Eric was growing really restless. He didn't want to wait around any longer so he started looking for Paul.

He found him still near the stage area, still surrounded by a group of very clingy fans, and that although he was wearing his sunglasses and it was already night.

Ace frowned. "Wow, either his 'condition' has become a lot worse over the past three days… Or he has just told you a lot of bullshit."

"Come on, Paulie. Don't worry about your boyfriend. Let's just spend this last night together," he heard one of the voices in the crowd say. 

"It's already too late for the party anyways. Just have some fun with us."

Paul let out a frustrated groan. "I told you I have plans. I'll spend time with you another day, okay? I need to hurry up or we'll miss everything."

"You don't really care about your boyfriend anyways, do you? If you did you'd already have pushed us away and run off to be with him."

"Uhm, well, I don't really mind making him wait a little, but… I have made a promise to him. And I don't want to break it." 

"You really are too nice," one of his fans sighed. 

"Okay, I'll leave you alone if you give me a kiss," one of them tried to bargain. 

Another one immediately protested, "What?! Are you trying to leave us out?"

The previous one made a defensive gesture. "No, I'm not! I mean everyone! Kiss everyone!"

"Just a kiss?" Paul asked. "I guess that should be alright…" 

"Everyone stop!" a loud voice interrupted them.

A tall stranger walked towards the crowd. Amazingly they all let go off Paul to make way for him. Eric couldn't recall ever seeing this man before but something about him gave him a really bad feeling. It was as if memories were stirring in the back of his mind but he just couldn't remember. And he didn't seem to be alone with his feelings. Ace also eyed him suspiciously.

"There's something really off about this dude… But I can't pinpoint what it is."

Paul looked over the crowd at the newcomer. "Oh… hi, Mark," he said, sounding quite weary.

"You're causing too much trouble for him. It's already getting late. Wouldn't it be best to just leave it for today?" Mark told the crowd. He looked at where Eric was standing. A little grin flashed over his face. "It seems like little Eric got tired of waiting and has started looking for you." 

Paul spun his head around and stared at Eric in shock and surprise. "What? You're here? I asked you to wait for me."

"Yeah, we're here," Ace muttered. "We heard everything. What exactly did you mean by 'I don't mind making him wait'? And a fucking kiss?" 

Mark shook his head in disapproval. "Paul has to attend to others too, yet he can only think of himself. Hey, you, wouldn't it have been best if you waited nice and quietly for him to call you? Wasn't that the promise you made?"

"Eric…" Paul said softly. "I'm sorry for making you wait but why didn't you do as I asked?"

"Why are you getting blamed here????" Ace called out.

"I'm sorry…" Eric quietly said. Why did he feel like this whole situation actually was his fault? He just wished he had stayed in the bus.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry," Paul said. He turned to face Mark and the fan club. "Alright, my boyfriend is here now. You can leave. I'll see you another time."

"You heard the man," Mark said loudly. "Scram!" 

Soon they had all disappeared, leaving only Eric and Paul behind.

"Sorry…" Paul said, avoiding Eric's gaze. "I'm really sorry for making you wait and now it's getting too late to still watch much of anything. I really wanted to make it in time but before I knew it they had all surrounded me. What's the matter with them? I don't think they ever interfered this much with my past relationships."

"So at least he agrees that they're interfering," Ace said. But if that's what he thinks, he should just tell them off!"

"Ah, maybe they're just jealous because you're so sweet…" Paul said with a sad little smile and finally looked at Eric again. "You know, I really wanted to see this last show. The two of us together… I even would have liked to go among the crowd, holding your hand so we wouldn't get separated… I don't really need the party, just being with you would have already been more than enough…" He seemed to have come to a conclusion. "Maybe we can still watch a bit of it. Among the crowd I would have been flocked again anyways. But where the trucks are parked it's quiet enough. Come."

He grabbed Eric's hand and they ran to one of the tour trucks. They helped each other climb up the front, all the way up to the roof and then jumped onto the trailer. Side by side they were sitting down on the trailer roof, still holding hands, their shoulders slightly touching. In a bit of a distance they had a pretty good view of the side of the stage.

"This is actually a surprisingly good spot. And a lot better than dealing with crowds of people," Paul said. He glanced at Eric. "We can be alone here too. Normally I'd put my arm around you at the very least. I'd be willing to do anything as long as you allowed it. We're alone after all. I'm sure nobody would look at the top of a truck while a party is going on and fireworks are launched."

Eric barely returned his gaze and mostly stared straight at the stage, unsure what to say or do. He felt nervous, but not necessarily in a bad way.

"But this alone is already strangely satisfying. I wonder why…" Paul continued. "All we have been doing so far has been sitting next to each other. How should I put it? I think I'm just really happy. Happy to be around you. Your hand is really warm, your shoulder against mine kind of tickles, everything about this is just unexpectedly satisfying. It's not bad at all. What about you? Since you haven't run away, does that mean you like it too? Are you nervous? Your hand is shaking a bit." Paul let out his breath in a mix between a chuckle and a sigh. "Hey, I'm working my ass off here trying to flirt with you so could you at least say something?" 

"…the fireworks are pretty," Eric mumbled.

"The fireworks? Yeah, they're pretty. Almost like you." Paul chuckled. "I'm kidding. Even I couldn't drop such a corny and cliche line with a straight face. But you know, if you keep acting so embarrassed it just makes me want to tease you more. Are you feeling cold? You could come a little closer." 

It took him by surprise when Eric actually followed his advice and shifted closer. For a while they just sat in silence, watching the crowd and the stage.

"Looks like it's about to end," Paul quietly said after a while. "And with that our tour also comes to an end. I wish they'd just keep going. Well, that doesn't really matter. I can see you tomorrow too. And the day after that. We still have some more days left."

The night had already mostly quieted down when they climbed off the truck and strolled back to the crew bus.

"I'm still very sorry about today and having to watch from a place like this," Paul said. "I need to do something about this. Anyways, I guess I'll see you tomorrow before our journey back home begins."

They were interrupted by someone approaching them.

"Mark?" Paul asked. "You're still out too?" 

"Yes. I know it's late but I still wanted to talk with you one more time about some upcoming events." Mark glanced at Eric. "Looks like you ended up going somewhere with him after all."

"Yeah. We didn't go too far though," Paul said. He turned to Eric and gave him an apologetic smile. "Well, it seems like I still need to have a late night meeting with our manager. See you tomorrow. Good night."

"That Mark guy seems pretty dangerous," Ace said when they were back inside the bus. "I still don't know what it is but there is definitely something off about him. And he's their manager? The way he talked he also seems to have some control over the groupie gang. I'd be really careful around him." 

It was even later in the night and Eric was already about to go to bed when he noticed that the screen of his phone was lighting up and it was vibrating, not with a message this time but a call from an unknown number. As silently as he could, trying not to wake the others, he answered it. 

"Do you honestly believe that Paul belongs to you? Don't get carried away. You know the consequences," a voice whispered at the other end of the line. Then they hung up again.

Eric felt fear rising in his chest, his heart was hammering. Who was that?  
An image suddenly flashed through his mind.  
He was standing in front of Mark.  
"But just because you're going out with him don't think he belongs to you," Mark said. "If you ever forget that…" 

"Was that… a memory from the past?" Ace asked. "My head's spinning… Are you okay?" 

No, he wasn't really. He felt sick and scared. What did Mark have to do with his relationship with Paul?

"Did that guy tell you something similar before?" Ace asked again. "That guy is crazy. More than just crazy. He gives me a kinda demonic vibe. For now you should save his number under 'Demon Manager' and block all incoming calls and texts from him…"

Thank goodness with their tour now being over he wouldn't have to see that manager for a while anymore.

The next day while packing up their equipment Eric was approached by someone who he assumed was one of the lighting engineers. He had previously only at best known him from afar but had never spoken with him. According to his name tag he was called Vinnie.

"Do you have a moment?" Vinnie asked with a nervous smile. "You seem to be well. It's nice to meet you, Eric. Or should I say it's been a while? I'm glad you're safe. Do you remember me? I'm Vinnie. Can you remember?

He had just said it was nice to meet Eric - then why did he also ask if Eric remembered him? 

Vinnie's expression turned a little sad. "You look like you don't remember me. To tell you the truth we've met before in a different place. But I doubt you remember anything of it. That's unfortunate. By the way, are you going out with anyone right now? Bruce? Gene? Don't tell me it's Paul." 

Ace frowned. "How is it this guy's business who you're going out with? Has he a crush on you or something?"

"Actually I am going out with Paul," Eric replied. 

"I see… That's not good…" Vinnie muttered, more to himself. "I still barely know how to deal with him here…" He turned his attention towards Eric again. "Be careful that you aren't resented too much by others. I just have a hunch… Watch out for the people around you. That's all I have to say. Sorry for taking your time. You can go back to work now."

He turned to leave again. 

What did this guy know? Why would he have a hunch? 

"Wait!" Eric called out. "What do you mean? Is there something you know about?" 

Vinnie only shortly glanced over his shoulder. "I'm sure you're curious. But I can't tell you now. I doubt you would believe me anyways, even if I did. See you. And be careful. Really." 

Great… As if Eric didn't already feel anxious enough.

It was almost time for them to depart when Paul came looking for him.

"I know this is sudden…" he said, playing with the hems of his sleeves, "But would you like to ride on our bus with me? We won't be completely alone, don't worry. Gene will be there as well. Not Kitty though. He said he wanted to ride with Tommy. We're kinda trading Eric for Eric here." He let out an awkward chuckle. "Anyways, I'd really like to spend this one hour bus ride with you."

Eric nodded. "Sure, why not." 

It wasn't like he knew anyone he rather wanted to be with anyways and aside from that, thinking about being with Paul gave him a sense of safety, at least a little bit. He had no idea who else he might have ended up with during their ride home. Paul he knew best of them all and while he didn't know Gene at all the bassist at least had never done anything to threaten him - he had barely even acknowledged Eric's presence.

So when the time came Eric boarded the band's bus. For a moment he stood completely stunned, just letting his gaze wander. It looked as if someone had decided to turn a long corridor into a luxurious apartment. There were different areas for a bedroom, bathroom, a small kitchen and a living room. Unlike the bus he had known before this wasn't just a place to crash if you really needed some sleep, this looked like someone could live in there. 

"You have never seen the inside of this bus?" Gene asked him. 

"It's his first time," Paul replied for Eric. "He won't even let me kiss him yet. There's no way I could get him into such a quiet, private place when no other band members are around."

"I didn't realise you were struggling so much. So finally someone even you can't win over has appeared," Gene said with a chuckle. 

Paul pouted. "Don't be so sure. We still have some time left."

He went to get some drinks from the kitchen area, leaving Eric alone with Gene. 

Feeling uncomfortable with Gene just turning this into a silent staring competition, Eric tried to start up a conversation. 

"So, you and Paul, how did you learn to know each other?" 

Hopefully this wasn't a question he already should have known the answer to before he had lost his memories. But he also could barely think of anything else to talk about with this stranger.

"Well, let's just say, at first we had our own different and not very successful band projects. Though, Paul at least was successful with the amount of people surrounding him. I heard of him for the first time when I found out that the girl I dated back then was cheating on me with Paul."

"Wait, that friendship was born out of a love triangle?" Ace asked. 

"Thinking back, it's kinda funny," Gene continued. "He kept saying that his eyes had powers and that was what had caused it. If he had seduced her he just could have been honest. But instead he came up with the most absurd excuse. I ended up breaking up with the girl but that's not the issue. The real issue is that even after three years he still hasn't backed down from that excuse. And maybe there is some truth behind it after all? I mean, sure he is famous - but this amount of people that are flocking around him is getting ridiculous. But what could be the explanation for his condition? For that reason I've started spending my time with him, out of interest. I want to find out the truth for myself. If along the way I can be in a successful band then that's an added bonus."

Eric didn't even know where to start with this new information. So Gene barely seemed to care about what his ex did and started to hang out with Paul because he wanted to find an explanation for his condition. What a weirdo… 

Eric cleared his throat and decided to talk about something else. "Uh… Have you met other people who Paul used to be together with?" 

Gene nodded. "I have. However you seem to be quite different from the other ones I've seen. I've heard that you're actually making Paul struggle so I became a bit curious about you. But now that I've met you, you seem unexpectedly ordinary and unremarkable."

Met him? Hadn't Eric been working together with them for quite a while? But on the other hand maybe Gene just never paid too much attention to the roadies in general. Or just to him since he apparently found him so unremarkable.

"Isn't that kind of a harsh thing to say…?" Eric mumbled.

"Why is ordinary harsh? Do you feel inferior just because you're normal?" 

To Eric's relief Paul finally returned. He handed them their drinks and sat between them on the sofa.

"Sorry for the wait. It looks like you two are getting along." He looked back and forth between them. "Was I wrong? You two looked like you were having a playful argument. Arguing and disagreeing with people is actually Gene's way of showing his affection." 

"No, it's not," Gene disagreed.

Despite how weird it had started Eric actually had a nice time together with the two of them. Before he knew it the hour had passed and they arrived at their destination. 

Aside from unloading the trucks there seemed to be little else for him left to do. Soon the only other roadies whose names he had learned said their goodbyes as well. 

For a moment Eric panicked when he realised that he had no idea where he even lived. Among his luggage he had found a key with an apartment number but no addresses. But then, like a knight in shining armour and as if he knew exactly when he was needed, Paul was there again telling him that he had been waiting for him to drive him home. 

"Or do you want to spend the night at my place?" Paul asked as soon as they were in his car. "It's okay, I'll hold back if you ask me to. Although it's up to you if you believe me or not." 

"I, um…" Eric stuttered. Why did his face suddenly feel so hot?

"Hm? What's wrong? You're all red. So do you really want to stay with me?" Paul asked, but then he started to laugh. "I'm just kidding. Don't get so serious. Sorry, but your face just now… You really are cute… Ahh, anyways, if you ever make up your mind, you're always welcome to stay with me. I'm not just talking about staying the night. I mean living together." 

Their ride only lasted for about five minutes so at least Eric was spared of any more awkward moments. Unfortunately it also meant he couldn't hear more about this new topic that Paul had brought up.

At last he was back in his own apartment. A nice little place but still Eric felt a little uncomfortable in there. After all it was yet another new and unfamiliar place to him and after three days of being surrounded by a lot of people pretty much all the time and the crammed crew bus it felt way too large and lonely. 

"Haah, we got home safely," Ace sighed. "But what was that with Paul just now? Living together? You haven't even kissed so you're still pretty far from that stage. But it sounded like he has talked about this before. Why would he bring something like this up?" 

"Maybe he feels lonely living alone?" Eric assumed. 

"Paul of all the people feels lonely? It also sounded like he had been the one offering living together to you before but you were hesitant about it. Maybe the time limit that Paul is always bringing up is the one for this decision? But Kitty was also talking about there only being a few weeks left."

They seemed to have learned somewhat more about Paul but at the same time it also got more confusing. 

The next day Eric was woken up by his ringing phone. For a moment he felt disoriented. He wasn't lying in his bunk in the tour bus so where was he? But then he remembered that he had returned back to his home yesterday. According to his clock it was already past noon. He had slept way longer than during any of the past three nights. Contrary to his expectations the caller ID on his phone didn't show Paul's name but Bruce's.

"You still sound sleepy," Bruce said with amusement in his voice. "Don't remember you as such a late riser. But anyways, I wanted to ask you if you're free today. We could do some shopping. Do you still need something for the trip? Or we could just hang out somewhere. Your call, whatever you like."

"Uh… yeah, some shopping sounds nice. Could you pick me up?" He had to or Eric would have no idea where to go.

"Sure. I'll be there in an hour." 

An hour later and Bruce really was in front of his door. After three days with Paul someone arriving just on time was such an unexpected thing.

"It's nice to already see you again so soon," Bruce said while they were walking down the streets. "That's gotten pretty rare with both of us always travelling because of our jobs. Man, thinking about this trip I get kinda excited. I mean, I'm used to being around band members but I've never been asked to go on a weekend trip with a band to a mountain lodge just so their roadie won't feel lonely."  
He chuckled but then quickly became serious again.  
"Although, if it always gets so crowded around Paul I can understand why you wanted to have some other familiar company with you. Speaking of his fans… Could you tell me, why did you want to go out with such an obvious playboy in the first place?"

"Uh… That's actually something we'd like to ask you…" Ace said. 

"To be honest, I still can't believe it," Bruce continued. "Didn't you totally dislike him at first? Last year you told me 'I'm working for the worst excuse of a human being'..." 

Eric's eyes widened. Wait, seriously?!

"But then a few months later you suddenly joined his fan club," Bruce said.

"His… his fan club?!" Ace called out. "Eric, you joined Paul's fan club?! Seriously? WHY? Were you one of those people screaming every time he walked by?"

"And before I could even process that, you told me the two of you had started dating. It was a real shock. You were always smiling but you never told me anything more about it. So what's going on? Are you seriously in love? Or is it just his eyes? Or are you going out with him for some other reason? I'm worried. If you have a reason you can tell me. So what's going on?"

"I… can't say more than I have already said before…" Eric really couldn't. He had no idea himself anymore what was going on.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Bruce sighed. "But… You know… You said before, Paul has never gone out with anyone for more than three months. He's really nice for three months but then after that he breaks up like nothing ever happened. Isn't the end of this month exactly three months since you started going out with Paul? You have less than a month left… Is he going to suddenly end it like with everyone else? Are you really okay with that in mind?"

Ace looked at him in surprise. "Wait… So the end of this month is exactly three months? So could that be the time limit he kept bringing up?" 

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you forgot that the three months are almost over? Didn't you tell me yourself that the key is after the three months are up?" Bruce asked and turned around. 

Eric had frozen mid step. His eyes widened. The world was spinning around him.

He remembered Paul standing there in front of him. 

"Let's see… Want to try going out for three months? I guess I can say it's out of interest. You're interested in me as well, right? If not then why would you join these other groupies and wait for me? Well… It doesn't matter. Let's date. For three months."

Eric shook his head. "I can't go out with someone if I'm not even sure if I actually have a crush on them."

His answer seemed to surprise Paul but then he gave Eric a sweet little smile. "And what if something develops? I'm sure it will." 

Yeah, that was right…  
After saying that he started going out with Paul…

Eric barely noticed that his legs gave in and he dropped to the ground. He was in a complete daze. 

"Hey!? What's wrong?!" Bruce knelt next to him. "Eric! What's happening?! Are you in pain? What's wrong? Can you hear my voice? Say something…"

But Eric barely heard his friend's voice anymore. The world faded into black. 

When he slowly regained consciousness he realised that he was lying on a bed. Was this his bed? So he somehow got back to his apartment? Someone was there with him.

"You're finally awake," he heard Peter's voice. "How do you feel? You've got a high fever so you shouldn't get up for too long. Do you remember? You slept for almost a day. Just lay back, I'll bring another ice pack."

"Ace?" Eric asked quietly as soon as Peter was out of the room. Everything was still spinning. He could barely move.

"I'm still here," Ace said and appeared in front of him. "You were so dizzy, I had to shortly sever our connection so it wouldn't affect me that much as well. You collapsed yesterday while you were talking to Bruce. It was the shock from a memory returning all of a sudden. The one that returned was probably very important to you, that's why the shock was so great. Are you still feeling dizzy? It seems like your memories are still returning, even now."

"What is Peter doing here?" 

Ace shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I don't really know. Bruce called him and he's been taking care of you the whole time since yesterday. He even stayed over. Anyways, right now you're all groggy. Try not to think too much. Just close your eyes and rest. And about Paul… You probably shouldn't think about him too much either. You might feel worse if you do…"

No…  
He couldn't not think about it…  
His memories kept coming back…

Paul was standing close behind him, his arms around Eric, trying to play the guitar that Eric was holding. Being so close to him, it made him feel all warm and fuzzy.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Paul asked. "Oh, right. Sorry. I'm not wearing sunglasses. I'll try not to look over there. Nothing will happen as long as you don't look into my eyes." He looked back at Eric. "Wait… They're not working? No way… They've got to be. You were looking at me so intensely just now."

At this point Eric had said something but he couldn't recall what it was. 

"Hm, is that so?" Paul asked. "Can you look into my eyes and say that? See you can't say anything. Go ahead, just say it again." 

That was right…  
The first time he looked at Paul he ended up staring at him just like everyone else…  
It wasn't like his eyes weren't working back then…  
But then he somehow had snapped out of it… 

Another memory flooded back into his mind.

This time he was out on the street when he happened to run into Paul who was talking to some girl. He turned around though as soon as he noticed Eric.

"Oh, Eric, going home now?" He waved at him. 

"Um…" the girl made. 

For a moment it seemed as Paul had actually forgotten that he had still been talking to someone else before. "Hm? Ah… Right, I was in the middle of something. It's okay, I'll be done quickly." He turned his attention back to the girl. "So you have been my fan for quite a while and now you want to go out with me?" 

The girl stuttered but eventually brought out a "Yes". 

"To me going out means having just a physical relationship. Are you sure you're okay with that? If you're okay, I'm free now. I wouldn't mind going out." 

"Of course I don't mind!" she quickly said. "That's more than enough! This is like a dream!"

When their conversation eventually ended and she had left again Paul turned around with a deep sigh to face Eric who was still standing on the side, curiously watching him. 

"So what's up, Eric? Ever considered going out with me too? Maybe we could after I break up with her."

The doorbell and some voices snapped Eric out of his daze.

"Oh, nice of you to come by. He's still asleep though," he heard Peter say. "Wait… Who the hell is that with you?" 

"Who are you and why are you at my boyfriend's place?" a muffled voice said. 

"Isn't that Paul's voice? Did Paul come to see how you were doing?" Ace asked. His expression became slightly worried. "Your boyfriend came to check up on you and was greeted by another guy…" 

"Hey, where do you think you're going?!" 

It sounded as if someone had just pushed Peter aside and ran into the apartment. 

A second later someone wearing a mask covering his entire face stormed into the room.

"Eric, are you okay? You don't have to get up. Just explain. What's going on here? Why is he here?" Paul's voice was muffled by the mask. 

"He's…" Eric started unsurely.

But he was interrupted by Peter running into the room after Paul. 

"I'm his brother for crying out loud! If you just would let me finish…" 

Paul looked from one to the other in confusion. "Brother?" 

Peter rolled his eyes and groaned. "Through adoption, okay…? So who the hell are you? Are you playing some fucking prank on my little brother?" 

Slowly Gene now also followed them into the room, looking like he tried his best to suppress a laugh. 

"Paul, calm down first. And I think you should remove that mask sooner rather than later." 

"Mask? Oh, this." He finally took it off and quickly shook his head. "…Whew, it was hot in there. Anyways, continuing where we left off…" 

"Don't be in such a rush. Eric is still surprised," Gene said and turned towards Eric. "Don't think badly of him. He was wearing that mask because of you in a way. You know of his power already, don't you? He wanted to find a way to repress that power so he wouldn't attract a crowd on the way here. He didn't want to cause you any trouble today. Although, watching from the sidelines this was just hilarious. I guess I should apologise. I was the one who gave him that idea."

Peter crossed his arms. "Well, I guess it's safe to say your power won't work while you wear that thing but… Are you stupid?! That mask might not attract groupies but instead draw all different kinds of attention." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, I'm glad you're so thoughtful to Eric for a change. His fever has gone down somewhat since yesterday but he still seems to be very dizzy." 

"I'm really thankful that you took care of him," Paul said. "But would you mind letting me look after him now?

"As long as Eric's okay with that, I won't be in the way," Peter said.

"Yes, that would be nice, thank you," Eric said quietly.

A short while later both Peter and Gene had left again. 

"And now you're truly alone with him for the first time…" Ace murmured. "Are you really okay with that?" 

Yes, he was. Why wouldn't he. Maybe he was just naive, but he trusted Paul. Although it was still hard to believe that Paul was really here, making time in his probably busy life just so he could care for Eric, and that this wasn't just some outlandish dream caused by his fever. 

"Is there anything you want? I'll go buy it if there is," Paul said while he was rummaging through something in another room. "Let's see… It looks like your brother brought medicine, food and other essentials. I said I'll take care of you but you actually look pretty good already. And he said your fever has come down too. Maybe we should check."

He came back with a thermometer and looking at it a few minutes later he continued, "Yeah, it doesn't seem to be that high. Although it's not low either." 

He sat down on the bed, brushing back Eric's hair.  
"I was really worried. You didn't respond to my messages or calls. And then I suddenly had Bruce on the line who told me what happened. …I was in a panic. You saw what I was wearing. I already knew that Gene was just making fun of me but I also didn't want to be held back by those people, no matter what. I wanted to see you, even if it was just one second faster. But you look a lot better than I thought so I'm relieved… I don't regret embarrassing myself to rush over here. I'm just glad we can be together…"  
He started to chuckle.  
"Oh… Although I seriously did panic when I saw your brother. That embarrassed me even more. I've been doing crazy things lately. Being with you makes me crazy. But you also make me feel so happy… Just hearing your voice or hearing you breathe is enough to calm me down. I feel so happy just being near you. That's why I do such stupid things, just to see you."

"So you really love me?" Eric asked quietly. 

"I do. Didn't I tell you before? Can you still not believe it? Or did you just want to hear it again? If you still doubt me I'll say it again. Eric… I love you. I believe this is what's called true love. I might be surrounded by others but I can only think of you. I only want to be with you."

He leaned forward and gave Eric a gentle kiss on the forehead. 

"Looks like the sun is going down. Do you mind if I stay over for tonight? I'll sleep on the sofa. I'm just too worried to leave you alone while you have a fever. It might go back up during the night." 

Eric quietly nodded and somehow this small gesture seemed to make Paul feel greatly relieved. 


	5. Paul - part 2

The next morning when he woke up Eric felt better again. Still weak but at least not dizzy anymore, which already was a huge improvement. 

Quietly Paul opened the bedroom door. Apparently he wanted to leave Eric's breakfast in his room. He gave Eric a smile. 

"You're already awake? That's unfortunate. I could have woken you up with a kiss." He put the plate down onto the nightstand. "It's almost time for me to leave. Work is calling, there are places I need to be. Will you be okay on your own? I've got something to do this evening too so I won't be able to come by, but give me a call if anything happens."

"He probably didn't get much sleep last night," Ace said after Paul had left. "He's seriously a good guy when you two are alone together. Thinking back on what you remembered Paul seemed like quite the opposite… But I wonder how long ago that memory happened and if he's still thinking the same about going out with others. I mean, that panicked rush he was in yesterday was totally different from his cold attitude towards that girl. But if Paul is serious about all this, then there wouldn't be any need to feel limited by that "three months" thing. What do you think? How do you think Paul really feels about you? Is he just nice now because you're dating or has he developed feelings for you during that time or…"

"I think he actually liked me from the start," Eric said. 

"From the beginning?" Ace at first was surprised but then he thought it over. "Yeah, it could actually be possible. He is really popular and people are constantly asking him for dates. Yet in this case he was the one who asked you."

During the day Eric had already been out of bed. He didn't go outside but he walked around in the house, trying to get familiar with everything. Before he knew it had become late in the evening again. His phone started to ring, showing Paul's name. 

"It's me. I just got home. How are you feeling? Have you been up already? If you're still up you should get changed and go to bed. I'll stay on the phone, just let me know when you're done. I'll watch over you until you're in bed so don't hang up."

"Uh… I guess he's worried?" Ace said.

He probably had been feeling anxious about this the entire day.

This was a bit embarrassing, but also… kinda sweet?

"I'm in bed now," Eric said a while later.

"Huh? Oh… Good, good," Paul said. He sounded a bit distracted. "…This is no good. I really just wanted to make sure you get some rest, but… I could hear you moving around through the phone and I started imagining what you might have been doing."

Well, that was even more awkward…

"Hey! What exactly were you imagining? Stop that!" Ace complained. 

"It's fun to talk to you but hearing you go about your life is nice too," Paul continued. "It felt almost like you were living here. If only it wasn't just my imagination…" 

Oh… So that's what he was imagining. Hadn't Paul said something about wanting to live together before too? He seemed to be really serious about it.

"Actually, since we're on the phone there's something I want to talk about… There's something troubling me right now. …Well, it's not really troubling. …I just don't know what to do," Paul started, but then he paused for a while. "Sorry, nevermind… It'll take too long to explain, so let's forget it. Good night. Maybe I can see you again tomorrow." 

He abruptly ended the call.  
Eric wondered what he wanted to talk about. He sounded like he was worried about something but what could have been wrong? 

"Well, didn't sound like he wanted to talk right now," Ace said. "You should be more worried about your health than about him. After all you only have two more days before the weekend trip."

Eric kept staring at the phone. Should he call Paul back? But in the end he decided against it. Still, he couldn't help but ponder over it for a long time. 

The next day his fever and weakness seemed to have completely disappeared. He spent most of his free time wandering around the neighbourhood, trying to find familiar spots.

"At least you don't need to worry about missing work or something. A roadie is more like a freelancer, right? Different people are hiring them," Ace said. 

Well, that might become his next problem if he couldn't regain his memory fast - trying to figure out in a non-suspicious way how a roadie got his next job. For now he still had enough money to get by for quite a while. But what if his condition didn't change any time soon?

It was already quite late at night before Eric heard from Paul again. 

"Hey, sorry for calling so late. I really wanted to hear your voice," Paul mumbled. Something just didn't sound right.

"Is he drunk?" Ace asked. "That guy definitely sounds like he had way too much to drink." 

"Could you talk about something? It doesn't matter what, it could even be a story, just for half an hour," Paul pleaded. "I might die if I don't hear your voice. Seriously."

"Did something bad happen? Should I come to you? Where are you?" Eric quickly asked. From the lack of background noise he guessed Paul was at home. Did he even know where Paul lived?

"Wait, you'll really come over here? It's dangerous. I'm more dangerous than the streets at night." He paused for a while. "…Will you really come over? You could at least let me walk you. I'm scared you might break down again somewhere. And I need some fresh air anyways. Hold on, I'll be right over. I really mean it."

Paul's house actually wasn't that far away, just a fifteen minute long walk. They mostly spent it in silence.

"Here we are, come right in." Paul took a deep breath as they entered the warmth of the house. "That night walk at least helped me sober up a little. It was pretty chilly. Sorry that you had to get out in the cold because of me but… I'm just feeling more comfortable at home right now. But at the same time I also wanted you near me." He led Eric into the living room. "Just have a seat. I'll make us something warm to drink."

"He seems to be doing better than before so maybe you don't need to be so worried?" Ace said.

But still Eric was concerned about what was going on. Did anything like this happen before he lost his memories? What would his past self have done? Would he just have talked on the phone?

Paul came back into the room again and sat down right next to Eric.  
"Sorry for the wait. Here's your coffee. I hope it's good enough to warm you up."

For a while they sank back into awkward silence. Eric didn't even know where to start. 

Until Paul leaned forward, covering his face with his hands.

"...Please stay over tonight. If you aren't here I might just stop breathing and die."

For a moment Eric was taken aback. But then he put an arm around Paul and pulled him closer. Paul wrapped his arms around Eric, buried his face in his shoulder. His whole body was now shaking with the sobs that he still desperately tried to suppress. 

"Please, don't leave me. It hurts so much. I feel like I'll die."

"I'm still here, I won't go anywhere," Eric said softly, gently rubbing Paul's back in an effort to calm him down.

"What happened?" he asked when his boyfriend's breathing had become more even again. 

"Nothing… Well, I can say that but it's pretty obvious that it's a lie." Paul took another deep breath. "All this weight on me is so heavy and painful, it's suffocating… I know it's just a delusion but I feel like when I'm near you I can finally breathe. Lately lots of fans have been talking to me. Well, more like confessing their feelings. I should be thankful, but… It is painful listening to them telling me about their feelings and then refusing them. I want them to smile. But most of them just cry. I might see dating them only as a game but… My heart isn't so cold that I'm fine with this. I want them to have a good time, to have fun. I have tried. But I still can't do it. And it hurts. I'm sure what I'm doing is hurting them but still - I don't know why - I feel like I'm the one being hurt."

He sniffled and after a few more seconds to calm down he continued with a rough voice, "The girl yesterday cried and said she wanted to die. She was crying so much… And seeing that I… I wasn't sorry and I didn't feel bad for her. I just thought what a burden this all was. I felt like the entire world was crushing me. I felt like I was choking. I just wished it would end… And I wished to see you… But I already know, as long as I have these eyes there's no way I can escape this. It'll all be the same, whether I choose one person, everyone, or no one, I'll still have to hurt someone. So, the only choice left is to just have fun, right? That's the way I'm trying to live my life. My only choice is to turn my heart into stone. I'm only going out with someone for three months. That's the end. It's not like anyone ever wanted to stick around for longer than that anyways, not with so much shit going on around me. I have lots of fun and they do too during that time. Wouldn't everyone be happy if things stayed like that? Wouldn't it be easier for everyone?"

He looked up at Eric and tried to smile but at the same time tears started to stream down his face again. It only looked painful.  
"But there are still some who butt in and want to force me to break up. It's still really heavy. It's so heavy, it suffocates me… I don't know what I could do." 

"But you're feeling better when I stay around?" Eric asked. 

Paul leaned back onto his shoulder. "Yeah… Hearing your voice makes me feel so much lighter. I'm serious you know. These eyes… Why can't I control them so that they only worked on the one I want them to work on…"

For a while they both were silent.

"Sorry… I know this is a heavy topic. I feel better now that you listened," Paul mumbled. "I'm starting to feel a little sleepy… Could you stay with me like this for a little longer? Could you talk about something? It doesn't matter what it is. I think I'd finally be able to fall asleep if I get to hear your voice…" 

The next morning Eric woke up alone on the sofa. He found Paul working around in the kitchen, still looking exhausted but in a way happier mood than yesterday.

"Ah, morning," he greeted Eric with a smile. "Sorry if I caused you any trouble yesterday. I guess I had too much to drink. We still have a little more time before I need to leave so how about breakfast? You'll have toast for breakfast too, right?" He turned his attention back to the food preparations and let out a sigh. "Ah… It's kinda embarrassing how uncool I am. Here I am, the budding rockstar, and instead of enjoying a life of booze and waking up next to a bunch of groupies each day I'm crying my eyes out on my boyfriend's shoulder and then spending a calm almost domestic morning with him. But I really am happy right now. I can't help but smile. If only these mornings could happen every day…"

Was he really okay though, could he really bounce back just like that? But Eric didn't know how to approach this topic. He didn't want to upset Paul anew. 

Paul let out a laugh. "Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm fine. Well, a little hung over, but that's nothing that a few painkillers can't solve. I probably shouldn't drive in this condition though, so I called Gene to pick me up. Shall he drive you home too? This little detour really shouldn't matter."

But Eric shook his head. He felt like he could need a walk and some cool fresh air to clear his mind. Before he left though he made Paul promise to call whenever he needed him.

"Whew, this shit is heavy…" Ace commented when they were on their way. "Here I thought that Paul was just a normal playboy. Probably would have been easier if he actually was. But this guy is suffering…" 

If only Eric knew how to help him. Was there something in his lost memories? He still didn't know the reason why some months ago he suddenly joined the fan club…

"Hey, Eric, over here! Do you have a minute?" someone called out to him.

Eric turned around. Someone ran up to him. That weird nervous lighting guy who he had met during the festival - what was his name again? - Vinnie.

"Oh good, looks like you're still doing well," he gasped, trying to catch his breath again. "I wanted to talk to you again for a while but whatever little job I took, only your brother appeared. Else you're always working together. Have you recovered from your fever now? And… About the trip coming up… It could be dangerous. Be very careful who you interact with."

"He sounds like a stalker… How does he know you had a fever or that you're going to be on a trip?" Ace muttered. He paused for a moment. "Okay, he could have heard it from your brother… But Peter didn't really seem like the most chatty guy…"

"I probably seem really suspicious to you. But isn't it true? Aren't there people who think you're just in the way? People who might even want to kill you."

The way Vinnie said it sent shivers down Eric's spine.  
His head suddenly started spinning. In his memory he could see Mark standing in front of him.  
"But just because you're going out with him, don't think he belongs to you. If you ever forget that… you might just need to die."

Eric staggered back a few steps, trying to keep his balance. 

"Are you afraid of me? Do you not know what I mean?" For a moment a pained look appeared on Vinnie's face but then he closed his eyes and only shook his head. "I'm sorry for interfering. I'll try not to approach you again. I don't think we'll meet again but… Take care."

He turned around and ran off again. 

Eric was breathing hard, he had barely heard the last things Vinnie had said to him or realised that he was gone. Something inside of him was clenching up with fear. What was this memory about just now? What did he have to do with the manager of this band? Why would he threaten him with death? The mountain trip… If the rest of the band was part of it, did that mean their manager was coming too? Was that what Vinnie had warned him of?  
But he couldn't really back away from it anymore now, could he? The trip was tomorrow. Bruce had already texted him before that he would pick him up early in the morning. If anything he wanted to be there for Paul's sake.

He noticed that Ace's mouth was moving. Actually had been for a while. However he couldn't hear a single thing. And Ace just seemed to realise too. 

"Hey! Can you hear my voice now?" Ace said. "Well, it wasn't a big deal. I was just talking about how the upcoming trip has become really frightening now. But you really couldn't hear me? Looks like I'm becoming more distant from you because some memories came back. Our time together might not continue for much longer. But I don't want to leave you alone yet, not in this mess."

During their drive the next morning Eric had even more reason to feel anxious. He had asked Bruce if he had any idea how many people would be there with them, hoping it was an inconspicuous way to find out if Mark was coming along or not. 

"Hard to say," Bruce had replied. "Since this is some sort of fan event - a chance to meet up and spend time with the band - probably a couple of people. As far as I know the entire lodge has been reserved for them. I have the feeling a lot of them will just be there for Paul though."

Eric had his arms tightly wrapped around his body as they walked from the parking space towards the lodge. The air up here was really cold. But that was probably to be expected from a mountain. The entrance hall of the lodge was so soothingly warm in comparison. Some people were already there, mingling with the band members. Eric thought he recognised some fan club members but so far it was still pretty quiet. Probably because the president of the fan club was still among them keeping them in check. 

"Very well then," Mark raised his voice. "Now that the last two have finally arrived, find your assigned rooms and leave your belongings there."

"We are assigned rooms? Is this a school trip?" Bruce joked. "Oh, looks like I'm in the same room as you." 

"That's quite a relief," Ace sighed. "I was already afraid that you would have gotten assigned with a member of the fan club or, even worse, that demon manager."

Eric wondered who Paul was with but probably either the band members stayed together or each of them had their own room.

A few hours later Eric asked himself why he had even been invited to this trip. He wasn't mad at Paul for leaving him alone all the time - after all this was a fan event so Paul couldn't just hang around his boyfriend - but among all these fans he felt really out of place. Right now he was standing in some distance, watching Paul play billiards - the game for show-offs as Ace had called it - surrounded by hysteric people. 

"Hey, Paulie, could you teach me how to play later?" some guy asked. 

He was elbowed by one of his friends. "Stop that. His boyfriend has been looking our way for a while you know?" 

"Yeah, I know. But you don't mind, right, Paul?"

Paul's eyes shortly flickered at Eric, then back to his fans. 

"Hm? Why are you concerned about him? All I'm doing is showing you how to play."

In a way Eric knew this would happen but… somehow it felt as if it had gotten so much worse than usual. Paul was looking his way again. His lips were moving. Was he trying to mouth a message to Eric? 

"Just… watch…"

"Just watch?" Ace complained. "Does he think he looks cool or something?!" 

Was Paul really talking about that though? If so he also could have said it out loud. To Eric it seemed more like a warning to not interfere with the fan club.

"Hey, it looks like his boyfriend is just watching us," the guy from before said.

"Ugh, you're right. How creepy…"

"Hey, you're one to talk," Ace complained.

"Look, you don't need to worry about him," Paul said. His voice took on a more flirtatious tone. "Unless you all want to make me jealous." 

The fans went insane once more and Eric decided it was time to leave. He couldn't take any of this any longer. He went looking for Bruce instead. His friend had already withdrawn back to their room.

"What's with this trip? It would probably have been better to call it the 'Everyone just watch Paul tour'." Even Bruce already sounded frustrated, although he had very little to do with Paul or his club. He was probably getting frustrated on Eric's behalf. "The other band members are getting kinda annoyed by this point too." 

There was a knocking at the door.

"It's open!" Bruce called out.

Kitty-Eric stuck his head in.

"Hey, you two, Gene and I are hanging out on our own downstairs, checking out the entertainment rooms while everyone else is busy going crazy over Paul. Would you like to join us?"

"It's not like we have anything better to do anyways. I'm in," Bruce said and turned to Eric. "How about you?" 

But Eric shook his head. While he didn't mind Bruce's company he currently didn't want to be among any more people. 

"I'll pass."

"Really? Well, if you want to join us, you can come down at any time, okay?" 

So what was he going to do now that he was alone? He only had Ace and since they both shared memories they could only sit around and go through and muse about the things they already knew. It might have been better after all to pay the others downstairs a visit, even if it was just to find out more information.

That moment the door opened and someone quickly slid into the room. 

"Oh? You're here," Paul said in surprise.

For a second he and Eric just stared at each other.

"Don't just suddenly storm into other people's rooms!" Ace chided.

"Sorry, I thought you were downstairs with the other guys so I didn't think to knock," Paul said. I was afraid someone would find me if I went back to my room so I ran off in another direction. Mind if I'm hiding here for a while?"

"No, not at all." 

Paul let out his breath. "Thank you, you're a lifesaver." He sat down onto the bed next to Eric and put his head onto his shoulder. "…I'm so tired. It's frightening how little they let go of me lately… I usually try to avoid big gatherings by doing just that - hiding out somewhere where I think they won't find me that quickly. But usually I hide out all by myself."

He lifted his head to look at Eric.

"Hey, do I look popular to you?" He chuckled when he realised how weird he must have sounded. "Well, that's actually a kind of a stupid question being the singer and guitarist of a famous band. But do I look any more appealing than Gene or Kitty - or any of the other band members at the festival some days ago for that matter? Sure, everyone has their fair share of fans but not like that."

"And it's making you sad that you can't be like them. Or hang out with them for that matter," Eric said. 

"Yeah, strangely nobody except you realised it until now. I want to be normal… And have fun with everyone, like a normal person… And talk to them normally. I want people to talk to me like I'm normal… Like you do. Gene and Kitty are also that way, always making fun of me and never praising me over nothing. You all comment on what you don't like about me and you say what you really want to do together with me. Like normal people and not like you're hypnotised by my mere presence. Being able to do something that simple is actually like a miracle to me."

He leaned back into Eric's shoulder, a pained expression now on his face.  
"But I'm also always afraid of losing you people because I'm always a nuisance somehow. I'm thankful that you're always here to talk to me but I'm also so scared of it."

"Hey now, it's alright," Eric said softly, putting his arms around Paul's shoulders. "You can stay here for a while longer. I want to help you to feel normal."

The next day wasn't much different.

Three guys had gathered in the entrance lobby, staring at one of the corridors leading away from it. 

"I can hear the screeches all the way here…" Kitty said.

"It's kinda frightening. I don't think we should go down there," Bruce said. He looked at Eric. "Hey, be honest with me for a second. Why do you even have a guy like that as your boyfriend?" 

"You don't know either?" Kitty asked.

Bruce shook his head. "He refuses to talk about it." 

"When he started the tour with us there were no signs it would happen at all," Kitty told. "In fact it looked as if Eric didn't even like Paul."

"He told me before that he disliked Paul too. But then they suddenly started going out. I'm seriously worried that he made a bad decision under the influence of his eyes…" Bruce said. 

Kitty poked Eric's shoulder. "Hey, could you at least tell us one thing? Do his eyes work on you?" 

"You're not affected by them, are you?" Bruce asked.

Ace shrugged. "We don't know about how they worked before you lost your memories. They definitely have no effect on you now, but it's possible that they don't work now because I'm occupying part of your mind."

But Eric had remembered - he had remembered being mesmerised by Paul's eyes as well. And then he had somehow snapped out of it…

"They only worked at first," he said. 

"They worked at first? Are you serious?" Kitty exclaimed. "Wait, then how were you able to get over it?"

"I'd like to hear that as well," a voice said.

"Paul!" Kitty called out in surprise. "How did you get here? And so quietly - without all your entourage."

"Left for a toilet break and parked them with Mark. He can entertain them for a while. This whole thing was his idea after all. Actually went to the toilet and then crawled out of a window. It's fucking cold outside." He said all this as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "But really, Eric, from what you're saying it sounds like my eyes worked on you at first. This is news to me. When and how did they stop?" 

But Eric could only helplessly shrug. He wished he knew, he wished he could help Paul with that knowledge. But he just didn't remember. 

"Well, maybe it just… can happen," Bruce suggested. "I mean, look at me. I'm also not going crazy about you anymore. Maybe it's because I know how much I would hurt Eric."

"Yeah, maybe…" Paul said. He sounded a bit disappointed. 

Night had fallen in and by Mark's request they had all gathered outside near the forest behind the lodge. 

"To bring on some chills to beat the heat it is custom to have a test of courage after dark," Mark said, trying to make his voice sound mysterious. "And that's why we've prepared such a test in the surrounding area."

"What heat? The only heat here is what this weird fan club has going on for Paul," Gene muttered.

Unimpressed by the interruption Mark continued, "It is said that 50 years ago a young woman hung herself in this forest. The path we'll walk tonight is the very same one she took. The forest around the lodge is very dark so be sure to watch your footing… And be sure not to run into any evil spirits…"

Most of the people just started snickering.

"What is he trying to accomplish with this story?" Bruce whispered into Eric's ear. "That the girls in this group will get scared and fling their arms around the guys' - or rather Paul's - neck? That we all - the grown adults - are scared? How many centuries hasn't he been among humans anymore?" 

"Uhm… That was all made up right?" The only spirit in the group sounded like he was actually afraid of ghost stories. "And why kept Mark looking in your direction?"

"The half of you who had been briefed before - draw names and split into groups of two with your assigned partners," Mark said. "Be sure not to be separated from your partner while on your way."

"Oh no! Are you really my partner??" one of the girls huffed at Eric.

One of the fan club members - just great…  
Wait, actually everyone was paired up with a fan club member. For the band it was understandable, this being a fan event and whatnot, but why did the two outsiders - he and Bruce - get assigned with fans too?

"This seems rigged…" Ace mumbled. He tried to elbow Eric who only felt a cold wave passing through his side. "Hey, it seems like Paul is looking over here a lot."

Did he want to tell Eric something? But they were surrounded by fan club members so maybe walking over to him might not have been a good idea right now.

Over the next half an hour the groups were leaving one by one whenever Mark gave them the go-ahead. Finally it was Eric's and his partner's turn too.

The darkness swallowed them almost immediately as soon as they entered the forest. Their flashlights were barely enough to light the path before them. Eric felt shivers down his back but he wasn't sure if it was because of how scared he was or because of how close Ace was sticking to him. 

The girl he had been partnered with gave an annoyed sigh. "And I have to be alone with you in a place like this. I'm so jealous of the one who was partnered with Paul."

"I'm sure you would have preferred to be partnered with Paul too," Ace whispered at Eric. "Ooooh… I'm just no good. Yeah, I know I'm a spirit but I'm afraid of ghosts. This might just be my imagination but I think I can feel a presence. A quite powerful one. I don't like this… I just want to go home." 

Eric tried his best to concentrate on the path before them and not the occasional rustling around them. Just scared animals fleeing from them, he tried to tell himself. According to the map they were given they were supposed to go right at the next fork but in this dark they might have a hard time even seeing a fork. Shouldn't they have come across one already? Could they have taken the wrong path? Was there something wrong with this map? Maybe they should go back…

"Wait… Where is your partner?" Ace whispered fearfully.

Eric spun around. He and Ace had concentrated so much on their path, they hadn't noticed she had disappeared, maybe already been gone for a while. 

"Do you… hear footsteps?"

Yes, Eric had actually heard them for a while but so far he had assumed they belonged to his partner. Was this her? But why had she turned her flashlight off? Why didn't she come any closer and instead carefully sneaked up to him like some predatory animal. Actually this sounded like someone way taller than the girl was following them through the brush. Eric tried to look around, tried to make out where exactly the noise was coming from and how far his follower was still away. But his own breathing, his own heartbeat had become so fast and loud he was barely able to hear anything else.

And then there also were other footsteps, faster, coming closer from another direction. He could make out a flashlight. And then a voice called out to him.

"Finally I found you."

That voice… 

Now the other person also was close enough to make out his face. 

Paul slowed down as he came closer to Eric.

"What's with that look? Were you scared? It's okay now."

"Paul… You're here…" Eric felt relief wash all over him. "But where is your partner?" 

"She said she wouldn't go so I snuck away from her. Wait a second… Where's your partner?" He half-heartedly looked around. "They always have to give us trouble, do they?" He gave Eric a smile. "Enough with the startled look. It just makes me want to hug you. C'mon, hold onto my arm. I'll lead the way."

Eric warily looked back as he walked away with Paul but whoever else had been following seemed to have withdrawn deeper into the forest again.

"This is bad… I really do want to hold you now. I don't want you to be scared anymore," Paul quietly said. "Ah, you know, let's just abandon this game. When I came here last year I found a nice hill where you have a clear view of the sky. We should go stargazing."

For a while they walked in silence.

"There's also something I wanted to ask you when we were alone…" Paul started again. "It's about what you said to Bruce and Kitty. Did my eyes really work on you? You've never said a thing about it until now. Why not? Don't tell me you still believe the rumours that I just stay with someone until they are willing to sleep with me and then discard them again."

Eric shook his head. "I don't believe it anymore."

"I see… That's good. Thanks. You already know that I've had my share of fun, but the whole thing about me throwing my girlfriends and boyfriends away… That's just something that others who don't believe in the powers of my eyes made up. It's all just silly. Everyone is in one of two groups - they either absolutely love me or they despise me and spread rumours. Besides you, the only people who ever trusted me and didn't lose their minds over me in one way or the other are Gene and Kitty. And, well, there's Mark but that's a different matter. That's just business."

He stopped walking at a clearing at the top of a hill. 

"We're here."

Side by side they sat down in the grass, gazing up at the stars. By now Eric's fear they could still be followed had subsided completely. If anything his heartbeat now went quicker for a different reason.

"The stars are amazing…" Paul quietly said. "You know, a long time ago when I was a little kid I looked up at the sky like this and made a wish on a shooting star. I said, 'I wished I could be really popular and famous'."  
He let out a little chuckle, but it sounded sad.  
"I was a really silly kid, right? Thinking about it now I could have wished for something better. But then once I got older and made my first try to get into the music business everything went so swimmingly. I was shocked. The first record company accepted my demo tape, the first album which was still a solo album might not have been a hit but it still sold better than expected, I drew the attention of the first couple of fans. Then Gene and Kitty joined me, Mark had already been my manager at that point. We were a new band on their first tour and already selling better than some who had been around for a longer time. By that time I was sure, the wish I had made as a child had come true. …But I wasn't happy about it. With the fame came the fan club. While I was loved and adored by countless fans I lost all of my friends. They all were annoyed by the relentless crowd that always surrounded me. I didn't want this power. I had wished for the absolute worst thing. If I could I'd go back in time and make a different wish. I wouldn't ask for this again. All I'd wish for would be for the one man I love to love me in return."

He halted for a moment as he watched a star shoot across the sky. Then he leaned in closer to Eric.

"I wish you would love me. …I wish that you wouldn't shy away from me when I tried to kiss you. I wish this didn't have to end after just three months. I made these wishes to you, not the star… I really love you."

Eric felt the heat rising to his face, the butterflies in his stomach. He realised how intently Paul was staring at him and, afraid these feelings had something to do with Paul's eyes, Eric closed his eyes. His feelings didn't disappear though. He almost expected that Paul would see his closed eyes as an invitation to kiss him. But he didn't. Was he leaving the decision to make the first move to Eric? At first Eric still hesitated, but only for a moment. He wrapped his arms around Paul's shoulders and drew him closer.

It was already in the middle of the night when Eric snuck back into his room at the lodge. Bruce was already fast asleep. His spirit companion seemed to be half sleepwalking too. But Eric wasn't sure if he would find any rest that night. His feelings were in a complete turmoil, the thoughts were racing in his head.

When he finally passed out it felt like he barely had gotten an hour of rest before he was startled out of his sleep as Kitty burst into the room.

"Guys, I've figured it out!"

"Huh? Why are you barging in like that?" Bruce asked sleepily.

"It's about last night. I figured out the trick. Eric, didn't you get split up from your partner?"

Eric nodded. "Yeah, that's right." 

"That was intentional. The entire thing was made to threaten you. I went up to the fan club all casually just now and asked them." 

"Wait, you can just walk up to them all casually and they told you as casually about their plans to threaten someone??" Ace asked.

"Intentional? Threaten him? …Are you serious?" Bruce asked. 

"I am. The first thing that I thought was strange were the partner pairings. We all were paired up with those crazy fan club members. The order we left in was strange too. Gene, Bruce and I would have been in the way so we went last. Just before us was Paul's pair and before them was Mark's pair and before them there was Eric. Isn't that a little too convenient?"

"Is it?" Bruce asked.

"Other groups made of fan club members only had entered the forest before Eric. And they left behind people who could get in the way. Aside from that, before entering Paul's partner said she wasn't feeling well and stopped Paul from going. So in other words, Eric was alone in a forest filled with fan club members. I have no idea what they had planned to do to threaten him but I'm sure it was no good."

"Wait, then… Eric… Were you okay? Did they do anything to you?" Bruce looked at him with widened eyes.

"Well, Paul accompanied his partner back to the lodge and then went to search for Eric. It seems like the fan members didn't get a chance to do anything," Kitty said.

And Eric confirmed it. It seemed as if Paul had reached him right on time.

Bruce let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. You could have been in danger… I wonder if Paul realised that they were targeting you. Now that I think of it, he left in a big rush to find you. Fuck… I seriously hope their only goal was to scare you… Even they must realise how much trouble they could be in if they outright threatened you… You have to be careful around them."

"We were careful," Ace said, "but I guess we'll need to be even more wary now…" 

Thankfully today also was already their day of departure. In the lobby Eric saw Paul again. For a moment he considered thanking him for yesterday but it wouldn't have been safe to do that in front of the fan club members. Paul looked over at him but then he left too without saying anything.

Ace shrugged. "Well, I guess he's always like this when others are around, right? I guess you can thank him the next time you're alone."

Their ride home was mostly silent. Bruce tried to ask him about Paul or the danger he might have been in but Eric didn't feel like talking much. Thoughts were still racing through his head. He could have felt happy. If it hadn't been for this lingering fear of the fan club - or Mark in particular. But who could he turn to? Bruce already knew of it but he seemed to be as helpless about it. Paul seemed to have his own suspicions about members of the fan club but would he believe him if Eric told him his manager had voiced a threat to kill Eric?

"We're baaaaaack!" Ace called out as soon as Eric entered his own apartment again. "Oh how I missed my home! My sweet, safe home! ...Well, no. This isn't MY home. I live somewhere completely different. But you know what I mean. Man, that really was something else. But at least we were able to learn more about Paul. So he made a wish on a shooting star as a child and it came true… That doesn't even sound so far-fetched, at least not where I'm coming from. If there was a spirit around at that time and heard him it might have made his wish come true."

"Spirits can do that?" Eric asked.

"Well, I can't but there are some others who are powerful enough. Maybe it even became attached to him as well. But unlike us it happened in a way he didn't notice. After all a being that powerful probably wouldn't be limited by such trivial things as distance to its host or an inability to interact with the human world."

"Either that spirit took things way too literal or it is actually evil," Eric said. "And there is no way for Paul to end that connection or at least change his fate? After all he wished so often for it to end." 

"Maybe the spirit will only take one job and then follow it to the bitter end, who knows. And it will only end once Paul tells it that their business is over. But at any rate, the issue now is rather your spirit problem and not Paul's. We have to find a way to get your memories back or else we will merge more and more." Ace's face lit up. "Hey, it might be a good idea to honestly consider talking to Paul about your amnesia."

At that moment the message tone of Eric's phone chimed.

"Oh, speaking of which…" Ace said.

Eric immediately grabbed his phone. He felt as if someone had poured a bucket of ice into his stomach when he read the message.

"Sorry. Can we take a relationship break for a while? I kind of want to think about this alone."

"Wait a minute! That guy kissed you last night and then he's like that?? I thought we could trust him and then this happens! He just keeps doing this!" Ace exclaimed.

"Why? What has happened? Please, I need to know," Eric texted back. He rather wanted to call. But could he do it safely right now?

"Sorry, but I can't explain right now. Maybe I'll see you another time. I have other things to do today and tomorrow."

Eric felt Ace's worried gaze on him.  
"Hey, um… Are you feeling hurt? Or jealous about what he might do while he's taking a break away from you? This is the first time you've felt like that since we merged… If you're really feeling that way maybe you should talk to Paul. He might be planning something, right? Maybe you should just ask him about his reasons. If the two of you don't talk, you won't know the truth. You don't know where he is today and I have the feeling he might not be too talkative on the phone either. But you at least now know where his house is so if you wait there he'll show up eventually."

It sure was late already. And cold. Eric had been waiting in front of Paul's house since before dark. He was pretty sure that no one was home - no one had reacted when he had rang the doorbell and no lights had been turned on inside after the sun had set either. Had it really been the right choice to come here? He started to feel like some weird stalker.

"Eric?! What are you doing here?! How long have you been waiting?" Paul had just rounded the corner and now ran up to him. "Ah, fuck, just come inside. Nobody saw you, right?" 

Why would it have been such a problem if someone had seen him?

"Hold on a minute, I'll turn on the heater and make some coffee. Damn, you sure do some stupid things…"

"He can't help it when you treat him like that," Ace said.

After a few minutes Paul returned from the kitchen and handed Eric a cup.

"So would you tell me why you were waiting out there? Didn't you think that it could have been dangerous? What would you have done if the fan club was following me when I came back? You want the same thing that happened at the lodge to happen again?!" He had started to pace back and forth and he seemed to get more and more agitated. "I told you from the very beginning, if I think it's dangerous I will have to pretend and treat you coldly! You really can't believe what I'm saying, do you? Does it look like I'm hanging out with them for fun?!" 

Why was he getting so mad?

"How should I know if you don't explain it?" Eric said desperately.

"I explained it when we started going out! Wasn't that enough explanation? Have you been questioning my actions all this time?" Paul took a few deep breaths, tried to calm himself down. "I wanted to treat you coldly in front of everyone so that they wouldn't harass you. But someone found out how well we were getting along in secret. I left my phone unattended at the lodge and someone must have seen our texts, probably also how often we called each other. Today I was out with the members of the fan club to calm them down. That's all. …So? Is there anything else you still need to know. Something else you don't trust me about?" Saying these last few words he had raised his voice again.

"Why are you getting so mad?" 

"Why? Should I be happy that the guy I love is doubting me like that? You were in danger because I wasn't careful enough. I already can't forgive myself for that! It's dangerous and cold and I made you wait around for so long. Of course I'd be mad! And you went that far to figure out my true intentions? That makes me mad too! Why do you think I'm putting up with all this? Why do you have to show such jealousy? Yes, I'm a bit happy you feel that way, but…"

Paul's voice started to break as he fought back tears.

"I'm in love with you. And I'm serious about it. I want to be with you and hold you all day and kiss you. I want to be able to wake up next to you, to spend our free days together. I just want to have a future with you. But things just won't go that way. If everyone finds out how serious I am there's no doubt that you will become a target. How much do you think I have to endure here…?"

He sat down next to Eric but this time he didn't lean on him, even though he looked like he wanted and needed it.

"…I tried going out seriously before. But none of them lasted more than three months. I'm not completely sure but… They were probably threatened too. The ones who seemed to be with me more for fun stayed three months, then they suddenly ditched me, the ones who seemed to be more serious about our relationship didn't even stay for that long. So I decided to make up some rules. I'd only go out with someone for three months. I wouldn't get more involved than necessary. And I'd explain that to everyone. If everyone knew that it would end after three months, my partners shouldn't be the target of too much jealousy. I'd lose them after three months but there were always more waiting in line for me anyways. Yet another three month diversion for me. A win-win situation, is it not? And that's how I've been dating people this whole time. …That is, until you scolded me and told me my actions were just the worst… And I started thinking my life over and changing. For you I wanted to change. But it will all be for nothing if you will become yet another target of bullying and threats until you just can't stand it anymore and want to break up with me too. That's why I've made it seem in public as if I'm not serious. And you need to act that way too. I just can't think of any other way…"

He vigorously rubbed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I just want to be alone right now… I can't take you home, that will just raise suspicion again if someone sees us, but letting you walk on your own will be too dangerous too… I'll call Gene. At this time he's usually out on a walk anyways and he's not living too far away either."

The way he had to sneak out of Paul's house, making sure no one was watching him, made Eric feel as if he had just committed a crime. The crime of loving someone… He joined Gene as he walked past Paul's house.

"I'm not a good replacement for Paul but I guess it's better than walking alone. With someone as tall as me by your side suspicious people are less likely to come near you," Gene said.

For a while they were quiet but then Gene thoughtfully said, "Only one week left…" At first Eric thought he too wanted to start about Paul's remaining time limit for their relationship, but then he continued, "Only one week until you have to leave your apartment, right? And living with your brother for a longer period of time also isn't possible from what I've heard. Do you still consider accepting Paul's offer to live with him instead or have you already decided on living with your family for now. I assume the latter option might be hard for Paul since after all you'll then be living several hours apart."

A week left until he had to leave his apartment… Why hadn't he learned about this earlier?! Why hadn't he remembered earlier… But before he could think more about it or this new information could even fully sink in Gene already started talking again.

"I might not seem like it but I'm worried about Paul as his friend. I'm worried about his cognitive dissonance." He looked at Eric's confused face. "To try and explain it simply, while Paul plays around with and goes back and forth between partners, he actually longs for true love. However there are always things that are interfering with his longing - the people around him, the rumours they spread. That's why he's fulfilling it with purely physical relationships instead. Because he had to put up with conflict and interference for so long he started to blame his troubles on his 'condition', simply accepted his despair and is just trying to live with it. But now it seems like Paul has actually found true love for the first time - you. I've never seen him so serious about someone before. But he still is conflicted. He's trapped in his old ways and can't find a way out."

"But what can I do to help him?" Eric asked. 

"Is that something you should ask me? I'm the one who should be asking you that question. Do you have feelings for Paul, despite the rumours that are spread about him? Of course if you can't reciprocate his feelings it can't be helped. You shouldn't feel responsible for his happiness. But I have high expectations that you won't discard him like an unwanted item after the three month trial period ends."

They had already reached the apartment complex Eric lived at when Gene remembered something else.

"This might not be the right place or time to discuss business, but would you consider working for us again? Just some smaller upcoming local shows and we'd prefer to work with stagehands we already know. We also considered hiring your brother again if he's not busy with something else. Of course we will still send you the proper documents - I just wanted to know in advance."

Of course Eric agreed. Without knowing it Gene had just saved him from one of his previous worries. Although he unknowingly had also created a new one…

"Only a week left until you have to move? As if there aren't already enough things out of control… Where does your family even live when it comes to the worst?" Ace said when they were back inside the apartment. "But there's no mistaking that Paul is seriously in love with you. Gene called it something silly like a three month trial period but I guess it really was like trying out dating him? I could imagine it would be hard living together if he was madly in love and you were just friendly with him so maybe he tried to win your heart during that time? That means that after the three months are over Paul won't simply end it. He wants to see if you really are in love with him or not. If you hadn't lost your memories you probably already knew the answer without needing to think about it more. And Paul might have come up with his own answer to this too…"

Suddenly Eric started to feel dizzy. He started to remember something.

"Hm, so there's a limit before you need to leave your apartment… Well, if you make up your mind I could protect you from this very moment," Paul said to him.

Eric looked up at him in surprise. "Huh?"

"I'm saying you should come live at my house." 

Quickly Eric shook his head and put up his hands. "No… No way… I couldn't do that."

"You said it yourself, finding another affordable apartment in this area is pretty much impossible, you also would never accept if I offered to pay for a new apartment and do you really want to move that far away?" Paul asked. 

"You're… right but…" 

"I live alone in my own house, I make a stable living, I'm just the perfect person to live with. It might feel a little… odd for me at first but I think I will be able to deal with my feelings."

That was right…  
Before they had even started dating Paul had made him that offer.  
Paul really was thinking about him and cared about him.  
He had seen that over the past two months and he…  
He…

Ace tried to put a hand on his shoulder. The sudden wave of cold ripped him out of his thoughts. 

"Are you okay? Was that another memory returning?" Ace asked. "I couldn't see anything. I didn't feel dizzy either. It looks like I am slowly getting separated from you…"

So Eric told him about what he had remembered. 

"So Paul is really serious about this," Ace said. "And I guess you have made up your mind about this too."

"Yeah, I have," Eric said. "I love him. I want to stay with him."

Despite the danger he could be in his feelings for Paul couldn't be any clearer.

Two days later he was working alongside Peter and Tommy again. It gave him a sense of familiarity that he had missed during those past couple of days. He had neither seen nor heard from Paul since two days ago but he also wasn't worried that Paul could be mad at him. He wanted to give his boyfriend enough space and time to make up his mind. And then, when Eric happened to be alone in a room Paul actually did come looking for him.

"Oh, hi, Eric. There you are. How are you feeling today?" Paul gave him a sweet smile.

And Eric was at a sudden loss for words. He felt his heart pounding in his chest, the fluttering in his stomach and even if he had known what to say he wouldn't have been able to form a coherent sentence. Why did he suddenly feel that way? He had known this man for over a year if his memories were true, had been with him for three months, so why did he feel as if he had just fallen in love for the first time?

"Hey? You seem to be having some strong feelings," Ace said. "Are you okay? Even I can hear your heart racing and your face is all red. I'm sure Paul has noticed too." 

"What's up? Did you finally realise how charming I am?" Paul asked with a chuckle but then he paused and his expression became more serious. "Wait, don't tell me my eyes are suddenly working on you now. Or am I just imagining things. Maybe I should test it." He put his hands on Eric's shoulders. "Look straight into my eyes, don't look away… Look into them and tell me… 'Don't be so conceited'."

But Eric couldn't… Because it wasn't true…

"You can't say it… Why not?" Paul asked. "I'll wait until I count down from 10. If you don't say it by then, I'll kiss you." 

As if that was a threat… If anything he wanted to be kissed. But why was his head spinning like that?

However, as Paul's countdown had reached 3 the door to the room opened.

For a moment Tommy froze in the doorframe but then he greeted Paul with a usual, "Could you please stop seducing people while they are at work?"

"Tommy," Paul groaned. "Couldn't you have waited about five more seconds?" 

"Feel free to do it AFTER work," Tommy said and closed the door again.

"Oh well. We'll continue this later," Paul sighed. He looked back at Eric. "Hm? What's wrong? You suddenly look so pale."

He remembered this conversation…  
The first time he saw Paul's eyes up close he was completely fascinated without even knowing it, but…  
He said, "Don't be so conceited."  
He said it while looking straight into his eyes…

"Huh? It's not working?" Paul in his memories said, sounding completely confused. "No it has to be working. I mean, you were looking at me completely charmed just now." 

"I wasn't charmed," Eric huffed, turning his face away. "Don't be so conceited." 

"Oh really? But can you say that while looking into my eyes? Look at me and try saying it again… See, you can't say it, right?"

Eric really was at a loss for words. But it only lasted for a moment, then he felt anger rising. This man was just playing around with people like they were toys, throwing them away when he was tired of them. This man… Eric wouldn't lose to this man…

"Ugh… Don't be so conceited!" 

"Wha…" Paul was taken aback. "You're kidding… Why… How?! How did you reject me?"

That was right…  
Back then Eric had only heard rumours and they really made him hate Paul from the bottom of his heart.  
That's why he rejected him.  
Of his own free will.  
It was pure defiance.  
Did that mean… anyone could deny Paul's eyes if they were serious enough?  
He wasn't the only one who was special?

"I'm… I'm okay… Don't worry…" Eric stuttered. Either his memory or Tommy's interruption had broken the spell and he had found his voice again. The dizziness faded quickly but now he felt more confused than anything. What if Paul's eyes had really started working on him now?

"Well, if you say so…" Paul said, though sounding not quite convinced. "I guess I'll let you get back to work. I'll be waiting for you backstage until you are done with your work after the show is over." 

"What? He'll be waiting for you here? Not you for him until he's done with his groupies?" Ace asked.

This was indeed unusual. A very welcome change, though also kind of worrying. How would the fan club react?

The show was over, the last bit of equipment packed away, most people had already left, when Eric made his way to the dressing rooms. He hadn't even dared to hope - but there Paul was, waiting for him.

"Are you done for today?" He greeted Eric with a smile. "Alright, then let's go. I'll hold your hand." 

This meant they would be walking out while holding hands right in front of fan club members who most definitely would already be waiting for Paul outside…

They didn't even come as far as outside though. Further down the corridor a couple of people had gathered. Why were they here? Someone had to have let them past security. 

"How did you get in here?" Paul asked with a frown. "I am with my boyfriend today so I can't hang around with you."

A murmur of disapproval went through the crowd.

"What…?"

"Wait… Why? Why would you need to do something like that for him…?"

"Do I need a reason?" Paul asked. "He is my boyfriend and I am going to take him home. I'll see you another time. During an official meet and greet."

Slowly the crowd was moving closer together as if they wanted to form a barricade, with no space to squeeze past between them. Their protests became more vehement.

"You can't do that!"

"Yeah, you can't! We can't accept that. You can't go with him, Paul." 

"He can just take a taxi home. You don't have to accompany him anywhere."

Paul and Eric couldn't go anywhere as long as the corridor was still blocked. Was that crowd trying to use force now? 

That moment a door opened in front of them and out came Tommy and Peter, carrying a huge speaker - one of the things they had actually already stored away earlier. They put the thing down in the middle of the corridor and turned to face the crowd.

"Uhm, excuse me. We need to clean up here so could you get out of the way?" Tommy asked politely. 

A bunch of people just stared at them flabbergasted. 

"The crew isn't done here yet," Peter said. "We want to get it over with so we can go home, so fuck off."

The murmur started up again.

"Wha… What's with that attitude?!"

"Hey! We've paid for this, you know?!"

"You paid for a place among the audience, not a backstage pass. As far as I know this event didn't even offer those," Tommy explained. "You shouldn't even be here." 

"Let's go. They are distracting them for us," Paul whispered to Eric and dragged him into another direction. 

They ran until the corridor made a turn and they were out of sight, then Paul opened the next best unlocked door so they could hide in the room behind it. It happened to be a small storage room for cleaning supplies. Holding onto each other they quietly listened to the fan club squabble some more until they apparently realised their star had gone and moved off in another direction.

"Sorry for rushing you like this. I know you didn't feel well earlier today. Are you alright?" Paul asked looking down at Eric. He let out his breath. "I finally did it… They're probably all really mad now. What should I do… I'm sorry for involving you in this. I'm sure this will have bad consequences. But I'll protect you. I really mean it." For a moment he paused, seemed to think about something. "Hey, do you mind if I ask you again about earlier, before our concert? Did my eyes suddenly start working on you or something? Or do you really feel that strongly about me… Ah… Why am I getting so nervous… You always make me act in strange ways."

"And what if your eyes had really started to work on me?" Eric asked.

"Well, it's true that your immunity to them is what interested me at first. But that just served as an opportunity. I love you for more than just that. You knew the rumours about me but you didn't run away or give up. You talked to me. You decided to put up with me. Three months ago, when you agreed to go out against that time limit, I didn't know if I could go on after breaking up with you. If you rejected me now I'd definitely end up broken for years. You really are special to me."

"And you're special to me too…" Eric quietly said. He pulled Paul closer and gave him a kiss. This was probably the weirdest timing to show romantic feelings - they had been fleeing from an angry mob, were stuck between cleaning supplies now - but he simply couldn't resist the urge. Paul really wasn't the only one - they both made each other act in strange ways. 

When Eric returned home he felt as if something was amiss. It took him a moment to realise though. Where was Ace? He hadn't seen him in a while anymore. 

"Man, today really was something…" He heard Ace's voice. "Huh? You can't see me? I'm right here, on the bed." Slowly the spirit became visible again but he still remained transparent. "I see… It seems we really won't be together much longer… Is there anything left you're worried about? I hope you will be fine once I'm gone and I don't have to leave you behind with your life still in a mess."

The next day even more memories returned to him, even though nothing in particular could have triggered them. He was just doing his work, the same actions he had done so often before. And suddenly he remembered a time when he had seen Paul with a boyfriend. It had probably been the first time he realised that Paul wasn't exclusively into women. And only a few minutes later there was yet another short flashback - again of one of Paul's exes.

"Looks like you remembered something," Ace said. "But you have done this kind of work so many times already, there wasn't really any trigger around. Maybe opening your heart to Paul has also lifted the lid holding some of your memories back."

Yes, he remembered…  
All of Paul's lovers he had met until now…  
Paul might have been playing around but he was still really nice to everyone.  
And yet he broke up with all of them too…  
Why…?  
Why did none of them want to try going out for longer than three months? 

Something about this realisation made him feel scared. But he didn't know why. There must have been something buried deep in the back of his mind.

"I don't really know everything you're thinking anymore but… I can tell that you're anxious now. If I had a body, I'd be able to go around myself and try to investigate things for you… I could also give you a hug and try to comfort you…" Ace said with a look of commiseration. "Hey, I've been thinking about this for a while but… Maybe you should tell Paul everything. About your amnesia and me and why you couldn't go to the hospital. Everything. I'm sure Paul would believe you. In fact, I doubt anyone BUT Paul would believe you. He's suffering from such an abnormal condition too and he's always been doubted and mistrusted by others. I know he could help you."

Actually Eric had thought about this for a while too. So he messaged Paul that after the show he had to tell him something important.

Later that night they went to Paul's home so they could talk. Paul had already asked him on the way there but Eric wanted to wait until they were at a calm and private place.

"Now then, what kind of things do you have to tell me?" Paul asked as they sat down in the living room. "I hope it's good news." 

And then Eric told Paul about everything. That some weeks ago he woke up not remembering who he was or what kind of life he had led. He also told him that a spirit named Ace had entered his mind and displaced those memories. That Ace and he had been working together to reclaim his memories and return to his old life. That he didn't want to be confined to a hospital and thus didn't tell anybody about it. He understood immediately that Paul was his boyfriend but getting closer only brought back bad memories. He didn't know whether he could seriously continue to have feelings for Paul. He had been so scared and anxious but all the things he couldn't say up until this moment he told him. He told him everything.

Once he had ended Paul just stared at him for a while as he tried to process all of this.

"You didn't remember? Not me or your family or your job… absolutely nothing? You had no idea who your friends or your enemies were? This is… shocking," he said eventually. "A spirit, huh… It's hard to believe. But these eyes exist too so I guess it can't be that strange. So that's why your attitude suddenly changed this month and you started distancing yourself. All the times I had been desperately trying to win you over, you forgot all of it. I should probably apologise for when I tried so forcefully to kiss you at the beginning of the month. At the end of last month it seemed as if you really had started to like me. I thought the right moment for it had finally come. But you refused my kiss and I was so confused. But I get it now. Haah… I just don't know what I should do at a time like this. I'm sure it was rough… What do you want me to do? What can I do for you?"

Eric bit his lips. If only he knew what Paul could do to really help him.

"…Can you give me a hug?"

At first Paul seemed surprised but then he gladly pulled Eric into embrace. 

"I'm so sorry… I'm sure you were really anxious… If only I had said more from the start. That I loved you and that you were the only one for me. I was in a panic… There was less than a month left… I was finally getting closer to you but we were going to be separated again… I always told you to be wary around the fan club but you suddenly became so defenseless… And because of that they all were able to get in our way… I really was panicking. I'm sorry. I'm probably the one who's caused you the most anxiety… There were times when I treated you coldly but I was just being careful so you wouldn't be targeted… But I'll stop all that now. I'll tell you I love you every day so you'll understand for sure, even if you lose your memories again. You don't have to go through this alone anymore."

Eric felt a lump in his throat. All the fears and anxieties he had bottled up over the past weeks - lying here in Paul's arms it was as if his feelings were all washing over him at once. Tears started to run down his cheeks as he buried his face in his boyfriend's chest.

Paul let his fingers run through Eric's hair. 

"…There, there. This is the first time I've ever seen you cry. From now on I'll go with you through anything and everything. I never want to make you sad anymore." 

"Where should I start when I want to help you regain more of your memories?" He asked when Eric had calmed down again. "Maybe some of the memories we made together? Oh, I know. I should tell you about the time we first met." He chuckled. "Although it's all about your serious dislike toward me…"

Eric was standing surrounded by grey fog. Was he dreaming right now? He remembered falling asleep on Paul's couch. But if this was a dream then why did he remember falling asleep?

"I think you could call this a world in between," Ace said. "My world. It's time to part ways but I didn't want to leave you before saying one last goodbye. You've reclaimed more than enough memories. Not everything yet but there's nothing to worry about with Paul by your side. He really is a good guy. I'm relieved. I don't think we'll meet again but take care. And get along with Paul. Farewell!"

The fog cleared up, revealing a clear night sky. A shooting star shot across the sky.

"Farewell, Ace…" Eric thought. "Thank you, for everything…"

The shrieking fan club groupies awaited them outside after the next concert. This time security hadn't let them through. They weren't happy at all when they saw Paul and Eric leave hand in hand, even less happy when Paul declared he had no intentions of giving up on his boyfriend. But there was not much they could do about it today. 

Paul…  
Was it really okay to do something like this…?  
Wait a moment…  
One of the guys Paul had been talking to - Eric had seen him before. Was he always hanging around here? No, it was somewhere more recent… He had seen him in one of his flashbacks. They all seemed familiar. Why…? Why were all the people Paul broke up with in the fan club…?  
Didn't Paul say it was troublesome to deal with the fan club so that's why he broke up with everyone after three months? 

"Did all the people I broke up with become my fans and join that club?" Paul asked when Eric told him about his realisation. "Yeah, I suppose that's right. But most of the people I've gone out with until now had been waiting their turns anyways."

Eric looked at him in surprise. 

"Aren't you one of them too?" Paul asked. "You didn't have much interest in them at first but then shortly before you started dating me you joined them. But still all you did was smile at me out of politeness and you never really gave me a warm welcome. After seeing that, I started to gain interest in you. Didn't we talk about this yesterday?"

Now that he mentioned it… Bruce had said that too. That he had joined the fan club. But why…?

"So you still haven't remembered why you joined? I've asked you about this so many times but you never told me," Paul said.

"I was interested in their club activities…" It was the only explanation Eric had so far.

"That could be possible. But then you could have answered me when I asked you for your reason before. You were pretty open about NOT liking me from the beginning. If you had said you just joined the fan club out of a passing interest it wouldn't have been shocking to me."

That would be true… He wondered why he couldn't tell him the reasons why he joined them. And it wasn't just him, he didn't even tell Bruce. Everyone wanted to know, so what was the reason why he couldn't answer? 

"Now that we're talking about it, it really is a mystery," Paul mused. "I wonder for whose sake you were holding back? Yourself? One of the club members? …Or me? If you found some dark secret about the fan club, there wouldn't be a need to hide it from me. I've been wary about them from the very beginning and I told you that already. So if you were hiding something… it might mean the fan club's activities aren't what I imagine they are… Mark… What are you doing…?" The last words he had rather said to himself than to Eric.

Mark…? What did he have to do with it? Eric didn't know anything at all about him but, yes, Mark actually did have quite some control over the fan club.

"What kind of person is Mark?" Eric asked.

"Well, I've actually known him for a really long time but never too closely. He is our manager, he takes care of our business - and at some point he also started gathering my craziest fans into one group. I was actually grateful for that. It made things quiet down around me somewhat. It's also true that the club has brought together a very strange group of people. But I'm still grateful. Mark always manages to settle down the people who go out of control."

Really…? But Mark had been saying way more concerning things than the others had.  
'You might just need to die…'

"Mark had threatened me," Eric said.

Paul looked at him in shock as Eric told him what little he remembered. And then he had a realisation of his own.

"Wait a minute… Ever since that club was created I haven't been able to go out with anyone for very long. Maybe things only got quieter on the surface and the bullying got worse behind the scenes…? But then the people I've broken up with wouldn't go and join the club again… Wait…? Actually, the ones who had felt threatened didn't join the club, did they… Some of them hadn't been part of them before in the first place and they sure didn't join them afterwards. In other words… The ones who joined the club afterwards hadn't been attacked in any way… You were part of them too. Now that I think about it, nobody really interfered when we first started going out. The interference only started… after you lost your memories. What exactly did you forget?"

What they were doing…  
He should know that… 

A sudden flash of memory shot through his mind.

"Monopolising Paul is prohibited," Mark said. It sounded as if he was reading the terms of service to him. "That is the absolute law of this association. If you follow the guidelines and act like an honest fan your rank will increase. The right to confess to Paul goes in order from highest ranking. Butting in will not be tolerated. Paul is very kind so he will usually accept if you confess to him but you need to break up after three months. Everyone needs to get a turn. When going out with him you need to report what you do every day. Emails or texts are fine. Understand? If you do, sign the contract."

"So that's what's going on…" Eric said. "Ever since Paul met you this has been in the works?"

Mark just gave him a crooked smile. "Just so you know, if you tell Paul we won't let you get away with it."

"I won't tell him… If he heard about this it would only hurt him…"

He remembered…  
Those fans were being managed by Mark…  
No matter how sincerely Paul was trying while dating and no matter whether he worked to protect them, it was no use. They weren't allowed to date any longer. They had agreed to stop dating him after that time. It wasn't Paul's fault after all. The one being used and controlled was actually Paul.  
He couldn't tell him…  
If he told him he would definitely be hurt…  
So that's why he also never told anyone else.  
The reason he decided to go out with Paul was because he joined the fan club, found out Paul was a nice guy and got genuinely interested in him.  
The reason why he never went any further was because he didn't want to fall in love with Paul any more than he already was and because he didn't want Paul to fall in love with him either because after just three months he would have to end it anyways. But it had failed and they both had fallen so hard it hurt.  
And the interference by the club started because he lost his memories and stopped sending them daily reports. He broke the rules so they were trying to force him to break up with Paul…

"You remembered something," Paul said. "What did you remember?" 

Eric opened his mouth but then he shook his head. How could he tell him something like that?

"Please don't hide it again. No matter what happened, I want to know what it is. I want to make a decision based on that. I have every right to do that, don't you agree? Eric… Tell me what you remembered. Don't keep any more secrets from me."

"I… The thing I remembered was…"

The next day the band - and upon Paul's insistence Eric as well - had a meeting with Mark in his office. Paul had called his band mates the day before and informed them of everything Eric had told him. Since this was affecting the whole band he didn't want to make the decision on his own but they all had his back. 

"You can't be serious…" Mark said. "Do you even know what you're talking about? For years I have done everything for you. I worked my ass off for your career, planning and organising everything while all you needed to do was standing around, sounding and looking pretty." 

"I know how much you have done for the band," Paul said. "But ever since I met you my personal life has gone down the drain. Do you seriously think I want to continue working with you after you have abused and controlled my life for years? After you have openly threatened my boyfriend? Consider our relations to be over. We don't need you anymore. You are fired."

Mark gave him a smirk. "Whatever you say. But without me success will come a lot harder. You will actually have to put work into it. From today on your fan club will be disbanded. You will now have to deal with them on your own - if you still even have fans at all after that." 

"There are other competent managers out there and the success of this band wasn't riding on Paul's fans alone," Gene said.

Kitty nodded. "We will make it, no matter how much of a struggle it will be." 

As they left the office Eric took a look back but Mark was nowhere to be seen anymore. Had he just moved out of sight that quickly or…? He wished he could still ask Ace about this.

"It's the end of the month now," Paul said as they left the building. "But that doesn't change anything, does it? It would trouble me if it did. It would be painful to live without you and I don't want to let you go." He tilted his head back, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It looked as if this was the first time in years that he could breathe freely. "The first time I had refused the fan club, the first time I got out of this control my manager had over me, the first time I am able to stay with someone for longer than three months. So many first times lately. And next… is the first time I'm going to try living with someone. It is weird knowing that now we can have as much time as we want to without restrictions. Let's see… how about we only try living together for a while - how does a month sound?"

"Oh stop that crap…" Eric said and rolled his eyes, but he did so with a little smile.

"Just kidding." Paul put an arm around his shoulder and leaned in really close. "But just so you know, I will be a nuisance. …I'll whisper in your ear all the time how much I love you. You will never be able to resist me."

"I think I'm having second thoughts." 

Paul let out a laugh.

He then grabbed Eric's hand.  
"Hey, there's one more thing that I want to do for the first time. Come on, let's go!" 

They were at a pretty crowded place now, had been walking there holding hands all the time.

"There's something that I've always wanted to do here," Paul said.

He put his arms around Eric and pulled him into a deep, loving kiss.  
They were standing out quite a bit but neither of them were bothered by the gazes.

"I don't care who watches anymore," Paul told Eric softly. "I've made up my mind. I will never let you go."


End file.
